<P> Asda Stores Ltd. trading as Asda , is a British supermarket retailer , headquartered in Leeds , West Yorkshire . The company was founded in 1949 when the supermarket owning Asquith family merged with the Associated Dairies company of Yorkshire . It expanded into the south of England during the 1970s and 1980s , and acquired Allied Carpets , 61 large Gateway Supermarkets and other businesses , such as MFI , then sold off its acquisitions during the 1990s to concentrate on the supermarkets . It became a subsidiary of the American retail giant Walmart after a £ 6.7 billion takeover in July 1999 , and was the second - largest supermarket chain in Britain between 2003 and 2014 by market share , and is currently third behind Tesco and Sainsbury 's . </P>
<P> Asda Stores Ltd. trading as Asda , is a British supermarket retailer , headquartered in Leeds , West Yorkshire . The company was founded in 1949 when the supermarket owning Asquith family merged with the Associated Dairies company of Yorkshire . It expanded into the south of England during the 1970s and 1980s , and acquired Allied Carpets , 61 large Gateway Supermarkets and other businesses , such as MFI , then sold off its acquisitions during the 1990s to concentrate on the supermarkets . It became a subsidiary of the American retail giant Walmart after a £ 6.7 billion takeover in July 1999 , and was the second - largest supermarket chain in Britain between 2003 and 2014 by market share , and is currently third behind Tesco and Sainsbury 's . </P>
when did the first asda open in uk
when did the first asda open in uk
1949
1949