Oscars of the world of sparkling wine give gold to bubbly you can pick up at Asda for a fiver

Just as the party season is kicking off, along comes an award-winning fizz with a price well worth raising a glass to.

The prestigious annual Effervescents du Monde competition, which literally means bubbly of the world, has awarded a gold medal to Yellow Tail Bubbles. Available for just £5 a bottle exclusively at all Asda stores, as well as from www.asda.co.uk, this is officially the best value, tastiest fizz on supermarket shelves this Christmas.

The sparkling white wine from South East Australia was the lowest priced bubbly to pick up a gold award, beating champagnes and sparkling wines that sell for up to ten times the price.

But there’s no need to just take their word for it – the stunning wine also sparkled at other industry awards this year picking up a Bronze medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition and also a Commendation at the International Wine Challenge.

Asda’s Master of Wine, Philippa Carr comments, “I love this fruity fun sparkler, it’s full of sunshine flavours and will make a brilliant fizz for Christmas. With award winning wines like Yellow Tail Bubbles available at stunning Asda prices, who says world-class quality has to break the bank?”

The Effervescents du Monde competition is judged in Dijon, the wine-producing area of Burgundy, each November and puts the best sparkling wines in the world head to head. Over 400 wines were sampled this year by 75 top wine buffs from across the world from France to Uruguay.

The competition which only awarded 37 gold awards this year prides itself on discovering ‘diversity, quality and high standards’ through its rigorous judging which takes place over three days.

The other supermarket sparkling wine to excel in the awards was Griffith Park Brut which was awarded a silver medal and is currently available at Asda for just £6.98. Both wines are widely available in Asda stores across the UK, with these prices guaranteed until 5th December 2009.

For further information please contact the Asda press office on 0113 241 7829

Posted by Asda press team on 27 November 2009, 17:34

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Save up to £20.93 just by switching supermarket

Research out today shows that simply by switching supermarkets this Christmas customers could save over twenty pounds on their food bill.

The research, from mysupermarket.co.uk the UK’s largest supermarket price comparison site, looked at 25 best selling Christmas lines including turkey, stuffing and mince pies from four leading supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Ocado.

Asda came out top of the price tree offering the festive staples for just £74.92; followed by Tesco at £76.56, Sainsbury’s £78.49 and Ocado, the online delivery arm of Waitrose, £95.85. This shows a massive difference of £20.93 between Ocado the most expensive and Asda the best value. And the price differences between individual products are jaw-dropping too, in fact by simply by buying your turkey at Asda rather than Ocado you stand to save £7.86.

Head of Pricing at Asda comments: “Christmas is an expensive time for families and the idea that customers could be paying over £20 more for their shopping really is the nightmare before Christmas. We want everyone to have a sparkly Christmas without breaking the bank, which is why we work so hard to ensure paying for the Christmas meal doesn’t gobble up your cash.”

more Posted by Asda press team on 26 November 2009, 09:30

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• Average household has £162 a week of discretionary income
• Most significant rise in annual rate of inflation since September 2008
• 3.5% year on year increase in cost of transport

The average UK family is £10 a week better off compared to October 2008 according to the latest data from the Asda Income Tracker.

As a result, the average household had £162 a week of discretionary income in October 2009, 6.5 per cent higher than a year earlier. This represents a significant increase year on year, but in cash terms discretionary income has been flat for the last three months.

Moreover, several factors are putting downward pressure on discretionary incomes and we expect to see a fall in the tracker over the coming months. These factors include a cumulative rise in transport costs, which have increased 3.5 per cent year on year and a rise in food and drink inflation.

The annual rate of inflation increased to 1.5 per cent in October, up from 1.1 per cent in September. This was the first rise in the annual rate of inflation in seven months and the most significant rise since September 2008.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages have risen year on year by 2.2 per cent. The price of food rose 1.7 per cent, while non-alcoholic drinks rose 5.5 per cent, with coffee, tea and cocoa experiencing an 8.3 per cent rise.

Although mortgage interest payments are 45.6 per cent lower year on year, this is largely due to comparing with a month in which Bank of England rates were still at 4.5 per cent, which is 400 basis points higher than the present rate.

Charles Davis, an economist at Cebr who compiles the report for ASDA, said “In October, the ASDA income tracker shows a smaller year on year gain in discretionary income than September. Households are better off compared to a year ago, thanks to falling mortgage payments and utility bills. However, the price of some essentials, notably transport and food, are rising relative to last year. This, combined with particularly weak earnings growth is putting downward pressure on discretionary incomes.”

Asda revealed research this weekend which showed that the price of unleaded petrol and diesel in its forecourts was on average three pence per litre cheaper than its nearest competitors and just yesterday, research from mysupermarket showed Asda offered the cheapest Christmas basket, with a saving of over £20.93 from the most expensive retailer– Ocado.

Just earlier this month the retailer announced that it would save customers £150 million in the run up to the festive season, helping millions of shoppers cut the cost of Christmas for all the family.

According to the latest Income Tracker report, gross income rose by £6 compared with a year earlier. After tax, the average family had £2 a week more net income than in October 2008, as earnings growth remained relatively week. Given the weakness in earnings growth and a rise in annual inflation likely in the months ahead, the growth discretionary income is expected to decline in the coming months.

Andy Bond, ASDA president and CEO said “Although we are seeing a rise in some household essentials, it’s up to retailers to try and keep prices as low as possible for customers during the countdown to Christmas. With transport costs on the up and food inflation rising, we’re doing everything we can to keep prices down for customers. Whether that’s offering the cheapest petrol, the best deal on your Christmas basket, or amazing offers on George and Home and Leisure, at Asda we’re determined to make the festive season even more affordable.”

Download the report

Posted by Asda Press Team on 24 November 2009, 00:01

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Supermarket Pledges to Cut Cost of Christmas by £150m

• For quarter ending 30th Sept 2009 comp (LFL) growth of 5.6 per cent (year-to-date comp 7.1 per cent), profits grow faster than sales, and price leadership extended
• Over three years of consistent market outperformance
• Market share up from 16.9% to 17.3% with even more customers coming through Asda’s doors.
• Asda forecasts most competitive Christmas of the decade, and pledges to save customers £150m this Christmas
• Colleagues thanked for their hard work with a £16m Christmas benefits package

Asda today unveiled another strong set of results, and announced it will save its customers £150m this Christmas, which it believes will be the most aggressive on price in a decade.

Over the quarter, the retailer has extended its price leadership over rivals, and seen its sales volumes accelerate as a result. This has led to continued market share gains and profit growth ahead of sales growth.

Underlying comp sales (like for like), excluding fuel, grew by 5.6 per cent during the quarter, with total sales increasing in the high single digits. Asda’s year to date comp sales have grown by 7.1 per cent.

Leading that performance across the UK have been the stores in Andover in England, Girvan in Scotland, Enniskillen in Northern Ireland and Bridgend in Wales – all top-performers in their respective countries.

The supermarket’s growth is being driven by attracting even more customers through its doors, who are spending more by putting more items into their baskets. Its market share has increased to 17.3 per cent, up from 16.9 per cent last year, according to the latest TNS data published on Tuesday.

Judith McKenna, chief finance officer, said: “Asda continues to be in excellent health, with every part of the business – food, home and leisure, and clothing – all outperforming their respective markets.

“We’ve once again taken the lead in lowering prices more quickly than our rivals and by a greater amount. More customers with fuller baskets demonstrates increasing loyalty amongst our customers, who are taking advantage of the wider choice under one roof.

“Our customers know they can trust us to have the lowest prices in the market, week in, week out. They can get great products and be served by fantastic colleagues.”

Data from Mysupermarket.com shows that Asda’s price gap is the strongest it’s been since the independent price checker started tracking prices in January 2008. That price position, along with improvements in product quality is proving to be a consistently winning formula for Asda – these results mark the 14th straight quarter of market out-performance.

Asda attributed part of its success to the growing importance of spending Saturday nights in with all the family. More than nine million of its customers tune into X-factor each weekend, which has led to an increase in the popularity of takeaway foods from its in-store counters.

It has also seen strong growth following targeted in-store events that have driven sales. During a two-week baby event 40 per cent of new mums visited an ASDA store. As a result it sold more than a year’s worth of car seats in the first week, and thanks to a market-leading 2 for £18 on jumbo boxes of nappies, 1 in 4 babies’ bottoms are now dry thanks to Asda.

The online business continues to go from strength to strength with grocery home shopping sales increasing by nearly 50 per cent over the quarter. It has also extended its reach into more postcodes including those in London, North Devon and Norfolk; as a result 97 per cent of all UK households now have access to Asda’s low grocery prices online.

The in-store collect service for ASDA Direct has also been extended to 150 stores, enabling customers to purchase products online and collect them in store at a time that suits them.

Posted by Peter on 12 November 2009, 11:42

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Supermarket slashes prices across branded technology products and makes HD more affordable

Asda is helping bring Christmas into sharper focus this week making HD more affordable than ever and cutting prices across 50 leading home technology products and accessories, including branded TVs, DVD players, cameras, mobile phones and sat navs.

Following a year that’s seen electrical prices falling across core products such as TVs and DVD players, the supermarket’s going a step further with this round of dramatic price cuts making sure shoppers can enjoy unprecedented savings before the Government puts VAT back up to 17.5% on 1st January.

According to the British Retail Consortium’s latest report, consumers are looking for big ticket bargains before the end of the year when VAT increases, so Asda’s technology price tumble gives customers the chance to buy big now and have more pounds left in their pocket come the new year.

The biggest steal has to be the Philips Blu-Ray DVD player which will be retailing for just £97, the lowest price a branded Blu-Ray DVD player’s ever been available in the UK. Winning a four out of five star rating in What Hi-Fi’s September product review, the magazine stated it was “a solid performer at a tantalisingly affordable price” and that’s when it cost £169, a whopping £73 more than it now costs at Asda.

more Posted by Asda press team on 10 November 2009, 07:00

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Date code: 31st July 2010 Price: £1.38 Barcode: 05050854916182

What’s happened:

We are recalling Asda Wholefoods Garland Figs 250g because some customers have found fig moth larvae in them. Clearly this isn’t right.

The products affected are Date Code Best Before: 31.07.2010. Lot Number 9175/001. No other products are affected.

We’re sorry this has happened and are busy getting to the bottom of it with our supplier to make sure it will never happen again.

What you should do:

Customers who have bought figs with this date code and lot number should dispose of them and return the packaging or proof of purchase to any Asda store where they will be given a full refund. No till receipt is necessary.

If you would like any further information please contact Asda Customer Relations on 0500 100 055.

Posted by Asda press team on 09 November 2009, 10:37

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Asda is the first retailer to launch the biggest ever world food range

Today, Asda opens its arms to the world by announcing the launch of the in Hounslow, West London. UK’s largest world food range

The World Food Store include a treasure trove of delights from the Mediterranean, Irish, Asian, Afro Caribbean and Polish nationalities across chilled and frozen food, ambient, clothing, homeware and health and beauty. The store also boasts a Polish deli counter and a Halal meat counter. In total the Hounslow store will serve six different nationalities covering hundreds of ethnic lines.

The launch of Asda’s World Food store is in direct response to customer feedback from the Hounslow area, which has a diverse range of nationalities, who want to be able to get their full weekly shop from the store, without shopping around.

more Posted by Asda press team on 02 November 2009, 15:15

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Asda get the Christmas party started with £12 little black dress

On Monday (November 2, 2009), a £12 little back dress will be going on sale in George at ASDA. According to research* by the supermarket, 71% of shoppers will have no more than £30 to spend on clothing this month so George is confident that the £12 dress will be flying off the shelves this week as it’s a perfect buy in preparation for the party season.

Last year, when George launched the £12 Little Black Dress for the first time, it was one of the fastest selling items over Christmas with thousands of customers desperate to try and snap up the limited stock available.

more Posted by Asda press team on 01 November 2009, 12:16

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