Asda today set out plans to create up to 12,000 jobs as part of a five-year £1bn multichannel strategy that will see it expand its reach across the UK.
Growth, the supermarket has previously said, will come both from opening new stores in areas where Asda currently has none, and online.
By 2018, Asda expects to generate £3bn a year from its ecommerce business. And a “significant part” of this approach will come from its plans to boost Click and Collect locations to more than 1,000 over the coming five years.
Today the company’s focus was on opening more stores in parts of the country where Asda does not currently have any. These stores will likely also function as collection points for online shoppers.
Doug McMillon, incoming president and chief executive of Asda’s parent company Walmart, announced the new jobs as he met Prime Minister David Cameron at the Clapham Junction branch of Asda today. He also spelt out the way the company’s multichannel strategy reflects the changing way that people are now shopping.
“A seismic shift in the structure of the retail market is underway, not just in the UK but right across the world. Asda recognized the change in its market and took early action to develop and implement a strategy that will see it grow – creating more new jobs and bringing real value to more customers in the UK.”
Cameron said: “I am delighted that Asda is continuing to invest heavily in the UK, creating another 12,000 jobs that will give people financial security for the future.”
