ASDA part of the Wal-Mart familyASDA
Invis
Invis
Monday 24th April, 2006
ASDA Launches Unique Retail Partnership In Huntly

ASDA tomorrow (Monday 24 April 2006) will unveil a ground-breaking initiative to pilot a loyalty scheme from its new store in Huntly Aberdeenshire, for the benefit of small shops in the centre of the town.

ASDA's small 23,000 sq ft store in Huntly will open on May 15th and is expected to draw new shoppers to the town who've never thought of visiting Huntly before.

The company, proud of its commitment to local communities, has chosen Huntly to trial the new scheme - COLLECT & SAV£ - to ensure local independent traders fully benefit from the new shoppers its store will attract.

Last Thursday, ASDA unveiled its plans at a meeting of business leaders in the town. This week it will finalise details of the scheme following their feedback and begin inviting local retailers to join.

In essence it will work as follows:

  • COLLECT & SAV£ stickers will be displayed in participating local retailers’ windows
  • Local shoppers pick up their COLLECT & SAV£ wallet from participating retailers or from ASDA Huntly
  • When shoppers make a purchase from a participating retailer or ASDA Huntly their receipt will be stamped and returned for safe keeping in their COLLECT & SAV£ wallet
  • When shoppers spend £25 in a local retailer and £25 in ASDA within a four week period, they simply present their wallet, with the stamped receipts to the combined value, to a colleague at the ASDA Services Desk
  • The shopper will then be presented with a FREE £5 GEORGE voucher and the next month’s COLLECT & SAV£ wallet

The scheme builds on a speech made by Wal-Mart President & CEO Lee Scott in Chicago earlier this month. In the speech he promised that Wal-Mart would do more to support small businesses around its US stores with a renewed commitment to be a community partner. (http://www.walmartfacts.com/newsdesk/article.aspx?id=1758).

“We take the contribution we can make to the community very seriously, through fund-raising, charitable giving and practical support, but we know in places like Huntly we'll be rightly judged by our actions not our words," said ASDA's head of community involvement Richard Woodhall.

“That's why I'm proud that we've chosen Huntly to trial a new scheme that shows we want to work with, not against, existing retailers and share the benefits of the new shoppers we'll attract to the town."

The scheme has been well received by local business leaders in Huntly. "There's been nervousness in our small town ever since it was clear we'd have two supermarkets open within weeks of each other," said Aberdeenshire Town Partnership Coordinator Donald Boyd. "Our job is to keep the town centre vital and active and this scheme fits very well with that. We support ASDA's aspirations for the collector scheme and will work with them to ensure it's a success.”

Asda also plans a number of other community initiatives to complement the scheme such as showcasing local produce, working in conjunction with the Huntly Town Partnership to offer practical support to the town’s retailers and supporting local organisations and charities.

-ends-

Further Information:
Sian Horner, 0113 241 7829
Out of hours, 0113 243 5435

Notes for Editors

One hundred and twenty new jobs have been created at the new Asda Huntly store, which opens on May 15th with an investment of £7 million.

ASDA & Local Communities

  • ASDA's business is not just about bricks and mortar - its colleagues are passionate about where they live. Most are local residents themselves who want to play a positive role in their local community.
  • From building relationships with MPs and schools, through to working with local businesses and charities, all ASDA stores are ‘Stores of the Community’. ASDA was pleased to receive the IGD’s Nestlé Social Commitment Award in recognition of this.
  • Last year it raised more than £4.8m for local communities and a further £1.8m for the Tsunami appeal. It also supplied 3,500 tents to the Kashmiri earthquake appeal in October 2005, providing much needed shelter for thousands of families made homeless as a result of the disaster.
  • ASDA's Community Programme, plus national events, Tickled Pink which raises money for Breast Cancer charities and BBC Children In Need, together have seen it raise more than £14 million since it became part of Wal-Mart in 1999.
  • Community support is also provided for local suppliers. ASDA now sells 3,000 local products, which our colleagues helped to source, from 250 truly local suppliers - many of which have less than 20 employees. In the last two years it has launched the following ranges: Best of Cornwall, Best of the West Country, Best of the Lakes (Plumgarths Food Hub), Scotland's Best, Best of Wales, Yorkshire's Best, Best of the North East, Best of East Anglia, Best of Kent and Best of Lancashire.
  • In January 2005 ASDA introduced 48 brand new locally sourced products from 11 new suppliers in the North East of Scotland making the ‘Scotland’s Best’ range more local than ever with all products selected on a store-by-store basis.



 

ASDA.com Copyright 2008