The British supermarket chain Walmart owned from 1999 to 2021 was Asda.
Asda began as Associated Dairies in Yorkshire and adopted the shortened name “Asda” in 1965. It grew into a major British supermarket and grocery retailer before being listed on the London Stock Exchange. Walmart bought the company for about £6.7 billion, with the acquisition completed on July 26, 1999.
Asda retained its name and British identity under Walmart, rather than becoming a Walmart-branded chain. That is why shoppers sometimes miss the connection: the stores continued to use familiar Asda signage, products and branding. Walmart later sold a majority stake to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital in February 2021, while retaining a minority investment and board representation. The proposed 2018 sale to Sainsbury’s was blocked by UK competition regulators and was not the transaction that ended Walmart’s ownership.