Asda has said that it will open 21 new convenience stores by the end of the month, with five already opened on Friday.

The new openings build on the 17 stores that have already opened in January, including at locations in Southampton, Cardiff, and Clapham in southwest London.

Asda also opened 81 new Asda Express stores during December, the most the supermarket has opened in a month.

The retailer's store openings include conversions of recently acquired Co-op and EG UK stores.

The supermarket chain plans to convert 254 sites by the end of the first quarter, bringing the total number of stores to 1,000 across the UK and Northern Ireland by March.

The move forms part of Asda’s long-term strategy to become the UK’s second largest supermarket, a position currently held by Sainsbury’s, by moving into the fast-growing convenience market.

Addressing Asda's gap in market has been a key pillar of the supermarket's strategy since its takeover by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital Ltd completed in 2021.

“After pausing our convenience rollout during the festive period, the programme is now in full swing once more," said Andy Perry, Asda vice president of convenience. "We have exciting plans to accelerate the programme over the next couple of months with the aim of converting all 470 stores acquired from the Co-op and EG Group to Asda Express before the end of the second quarter."

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