Supermarket giant Asda is cutting two central distribution depots
and making its @t Home online shopping service store-based in a bid
to expand customer reach and products available
Asda will close its two dedicated picking centres at Watford and
Croydon, and shift the service to 13 stores in the South East area.
The company expects to complete the transfer by 30 March
2002.
According to Asda the move will allow it to double the number of
products available to order in London and the South East from 5,500
to 11,000.
The company also said that the @t Home service would now be
available to more customers, increasing the number of households
with access to Asda @t Home from 8.4 million to 14 million by the
end of 2002.
The move marks a dramatic change of strategy for the supermarket,
which initially turned its back on the store-based online shopping
systems that were pioneered by Tesco.
Speaking to Computer Weekly last year Mike McNamara, chief
technology officer at Tesco.com said: "Everyone else went out and
bought a warehouse, but nobody in the world has proved the economic
model of running a warehouse." McNamara predicted the major
supermarkets would eventually follow Tesco's lead.