Is Walmart Available in the UK? History of Walmart on UK and Why It Sale under ASDA (2024)

Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue, with US$548.743 billion, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2020. It is also the largest private employer in the world with 2.2 million employees. It is a publicly-traded family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family.

Basically, Walmart arrived in the U.K. back in 1999, snapping up Britain’s third-placed grocery chain which, ironically, had based its retail strategy on mirroring the tactics of the Arkansas behemoth. By early December of the same year, ASDA had opened its first Walmart-style megastore on the outskirts of Bristol, west of England. But they didn’t use the name Walmart because at that time, ASDA was already well established in the UK and it had hundreds of locations throughout the UK. In the meantime, Walmart was silently making profits from some trusted and established brand that UK shoppers had formed for ASDA since the 1st half of the 20th century.

ASDA has different branding and colors, along with a separate slogan from Walmart. So instead of, “Save money, live better,” they say “Saving you money every day.”

In this article, we will discuss the complete history of Walmart in the UK and how it gains a solid foothold in Europe.

Okay, let us dive into the scenario…

✅ How Did Walmart Enter The United Kingdom?

1. Asda has been a well-known supermarket chain in the UK since the 1920s when the first locations opened in West Yorkshire.
2. By the 90s, ASDA was nearing bankruptcy and there were rumors of a merger. In June 1999 it was announced that Walmart had placed a $10.8 billion bid to acquire Asda.
3. So, Walmart originally acquired Asda in 1999, retaining its company name and marking Walmart’s entry into the UK Market.
4. At the time, the acquisition seemed like the start of Walmart’s European domination. But it failed to launch particularly well in Germany (under the Walmart store brand).
5. So, rather than digging in deeper in Europe, Walmart failed in Europe and was looking elsewhere to expand.
6. In 2021, the Issa brothers completed a majority-stake acquisition of Asda, with Walmart retaining an equity investment and seat on the board.

✅ Why Is ASDA Not Called Walmart?

• The first reason is that ASDA is already well established in the UK. So, Instead of using the name “Walmart”, Walmart is quietly making profits from the established brand trust and loyalty that UK shoppers had formed for ASDA since the first half of the 20th century.

• Another big reason is that Asda has hundreds of locations throughout the UK. Imagine how expensive that would have been for Walmart to newly establish such a number of shops throughout the UK.

✅ How Are Asda And Walmart Similar?

As mentioned previously, there is enough similarity between Asda and Walmart to have made Walmart’s initial acquisition an attractive one. Some enterprising writers at Business Insider visited both an Asda and a Walmart to report on what’s alike and what’s different.

They have concluded the discussion with the statement that Asda is more of a grocery store, and Walmart is more of an “everything” store.

✅ Who Acquired ASDA From Walmart?

Walmart is still technically present in the UK with its minority stake in Asda, but the new owners are

• The Issa brothers,
• Billionaires,
• And Owners of the EG Group.

Despite the new acquisition, Walmart maintains its minority stake in Asda, who will still have a voice on the board and plans to continue their “ongoing commercial relationship”.

Walmart’s presence in the UK and London has diminished since the Asda buyout by the Issa brothers. But for over 20 years Walmart did operate the Asda supermarket chain in London and the UK as part of their network of international holdings. Despite the new acquisition, Walmart maintains its minority stake in Asda, who will still have a voice on the board and plans to continue their “ongoing commercial relationship”. With the sale of the Asda company, Walmart appears to be looking toward Asian markets instead. We hope that this article will help you to know the history of Walmart in the UK as well as why it sells under ASDA. If you think this article will help you, please comment, share, and subscribe to our blog. Also, do not hesitate to ask if you have any queries on any field of eCommerce. We would be glad to hear from you and answer your questions.