First Asda on the Move opens as retailer’s new drive into convenience sector gets into gear

It started trading just days after the owners of Euro Garages, Mohsin and Zuber Issa, and partners at a private equity company agreed to buy Asda for £6.8bn.

The Issa brothers, who are joint chief executives of EG Group, which owns Euro Garages, were honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List at the weekend with the award of a CBE “for their contribution to business and philanthropy”.

The new outlet, at the established Primley service station in Walsall, is the first of three Asda on the Move convenience stores planned for Euro Garages forecourt sites in the Midlands as part of a trial. Two more outlets are already planned for sites at Ashby and Leamore.

Asda announced it was launching the new format in conjunction with the EG Group last month. Preyash Thakrar, Asda’s chief strategy officer, said at the time: “Our partnerships strategy is focused on making our busy customers’ lives easier.

That means offering convenience when they visit our stores by bringing in complementary brands to help them complete more shopping missions in one location, and convenience that makes our great value products more accessible in local communities.”

The trial of the new convenience offering follows the launch of Asda’s partnership with Uber Eats in July which has since been expanded to 25 stores.

The new owners of Asda have already said they will invest £1bn over the next three years to strengthen Asda’s business, grow its convenience and online operations and develop the supply chain.