Trade comment from George Rankin
NI senior director for Asda talks to Neighbourhood Retailer about the company’s highlights in 2018 and what lies in store for them in the coming year.
“2018 marked a year of further growth and development for Asda, with our 17 stores continuing to trade successfully and our customers remaining as loyal as ever.
“The pinnacle was our success in being awarded the prestigious Gold Level ‘CORE’ accreditation by Business in the Community. Not only were we the first retailer in Northern Ireland to be recognised at this level for our commitment to corporate social responsibility, but we were also the first business to go straight to Gold!
“Much of our work throughout the year is evidence of how we achieved the Gold standard – from the launch of our ‘Plastic Unwrapped’ programme, to our ‘Fight Hunger Create Change’ initiative – a three year partnership with foodbank charity The Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity FareShare to invest at least £20m to try and lift one million people in the UK out of food poverty.
“Wider partnerships such as that with Drink Wise Age Well, alongside banning the sale of high energy drinks to those under 16, highlight our ongoing commitment to responsibility when it comes to our customers.
“2018 was also another year of positive output for the Asda Foundation, which helped hundreds of community groups and organisations located close to our stores. To date, Northern Ireland has benefited from over £1milion in donations from the Foundation – making a tangible difference to the lives of so many people. At store level this community engagement is delivered by our team of hard-working Community Champions who are living proof – at a local level – that we take our responsibilities to the communities we serve seriously.
“The supply chain remains central to our business operation and throughout 2018 we continued to develop relationships with companies across NI’s thriving agri-food sector, creating business opportunities to supply their goods to our NI stores and indeed across our UK-wide store network. We consolidated this through our involvement in Open Farm Weekend, the Farm Safety Partnership, Love Lamb Week and the Balmoral Show – each providing excellent opportunities to highlight the part we play in the farm gate to plate journey.
“We marked the end of 2018 with a focus on our stores, with Antrim, Coleraine, Westwood, and Newtownards all benefiting from a combined £8.2million of investment, delivering expansions and improvements which were much appreciated by customers in the busy pre-Christmas season.
“2019 promises to bring more good news in the form of community commitments, inclusion and investment – and despite the challenges faced by Brexit, we look forward to making it as positive and productive as possible for all who work, shop and deal with Asda in Northern Ireland.”
