£26m bonus bonanza for Asda's staff

ASDA yesterday vowed to accelerate openings of smaller stores after unveiling a 6 per cent rise in like-for-like sales for 2009, while admitting that its out-of-town superstores were left out in the cold by the freezing winter weather.

The rise in sales triggered bonus payouts for staff, who will share a record pot of 26 million.

Asda – which is owned by US giant Wal-Mart – said the bonus pot was 18 per cent bigger than the previous year after the firm served an extra one million customers.

Store and depot workers will receive a payout of up to 437.50.

Three small format stores will be opened towards the end of March as part of a programme to add ten stores and create 6,000 jobs this year.

Growth was driven by an increase in customer numbers and higher average spend across the year and the company said it had exceeded its forecasts for both profits and sales. Wal-Mart does not release separate profit figures for Asda.

The supermarket lost out in the snowy weather during its busiest trading period at the end of the year. Chief executive Andy Bond said the freezing conditions were some of the most challenging the firm had ever experienced.

"We have far fewer stores than our competitors, so our 18 million customers have to drive a little further to get to us," he said.

"Not surprisingly, this meant that the four weeks of snow and ice from 18 December impacted us more than any other food retailer."

Recent figures from Kantar Worldpanel showed Asda lost market share for the first time in more than two years in January.

The group was the only one of the "big four" players to see market share fall last month.

Asda, which currently has 371 stores across the UK, now plans to broaden its business with additional smaller supermarkets, which can be located closer to communities.

The firm said the first three openings this year will be in Cumnock, Ayrshire; Kings Heath in the West Midlands; and Tweedmouth, in Northumberland.

Asda also wants to capture a greater share of the online grocery market after it saw sales in its home food shopping division rise by nearly 50 per cent last year.

The supermarket chain admitted it was "too promotional" in 2009, as it was sucked into ferocious high street price wars.

Bond added: "While we charge a consistent low price every day, all three of our rivals have a high-low promotional strategy.

"In my view they are guilty of employing weapons of mass distraction when it comes to pricing. We will no longer get drawn into playing this game."

Results for Wal-Mart as a whole showed the group generated just over $400 billion (256bn) in sales across the financial year to 31 January, up slightly from the previous 12 months.