Asda intends to open 18 new stores within in the year

Supermarket chain Asda has announced plans to open 18 new stores, including an eco-friendly branch, and create upto 8,000 jobs over the next twelve months.It said it would also expand 15 of its existing shops and create 10 of its out-of-town, dubbed Asda Living stores – selling none food items.

Asda’s parent company Wal-Mart had earlier said its UK business enjoyed a “turnaround” during the last year.

The chain opened 25 new stores and created 7,000 jobs in 2006, and now has 334 stores across the whole of the United Kingdom.

One of the new stores will be “energy-efficient”, based in Shaw, near Oldham.

The retail giant said this would be 20% more energy efficient than its other branches, and would be built from bricks and timber recycled from a mill formerly located on the development site.

Asda Living stores are non-food outlets – stocking electrical goods, furniture, clothing and mobile phones – usually found on retail parks.

Although Wal-Mart does not release detailed figures for Asda, it said that profits at the UK business had “increased slightly” in the year to 31 January.

It also said Asda had increase its ‘regualr shopper’ base by around 1 million.

American company Wal-Mart made the comments as it reported an almost 10% increase in its global profits for the three-months to 31 January.

Asda was bought by Wal-Mart back in 1999, but remains in the shadow of Tesco which is still the UKs biggest supermarket.