Asda is jostling with Tesco for the number one spot in non food with the launch of a range of homewares specifically for the kids' market.
Kids Home, which will sit alongside the newly rebranded George Home, will include a range of furniture, playware, soft furnishings and items such as lunch boxes. It will have its own distinct area in stores, not unlike the way Ikea operates, said a spokeswoman.
"Baby is a huge area for us, but they grow up. We're not sure how it will look at the moment or whether it will be rebadged, but we're concentrating on getting the offer right."
Asda is currently recruiting a buyer for the venture to source and develop the range for its non food Asda Living stores and supermarkets, with an emphasis on ensuring the lines are cheaper than competitors.
The supermarket is also recruiting non food buyers to strengthen its team as it challenges Tesco for pole position in general merchandise. As part of the move, which comes ahead of the much-anticipated launch of Tesco's non food home shopping venture in the coming months, Asda has undertaken a series of press ads highlighting the price difference between itself and Argos.
One ad features its own label Onn-branded 20-inch LCD TV, which costs £249 compared with £299.99 for what it claims is the Argos equivalent.
Meanwhile, Tesco is to open its second Home Plus non food store in September in Telford, Shropshire. It will come a year after the opening of the first non food-only format in Manchester last September. A Home Plus planned for Abderdeen was abandoned last year after problems arose with building regulations and the foundations (The Grocer, 12 November 2005, p11).
Tesco has also earmarked Bristol as a possible site for the new format.
Next week, The Grocer will reveal which supermarket is the cheapest for non food in our quarterly Non Food Report.
Kids Home, which will sit alongside the newly rebranded George Home, will include a range of furniture, playware, soft furnishings and items such as lunch boxes. It will have its own distinct area in stores, not unlike the way Ikea operates, said a spokeswoman.
"Baby is a huge area for us, but they grow up. We're not sure how it will look at the moment or whether it will be rebadged, but we're concentrating on getting the offer right."
Asda is currently recruiting a buyer for the venture to source and develop the range for its non food Asda Living stores and supermarkets, with an emphasis on ensuring the lines are cheaper than competitors.
The supermarket is also recruiting non food buyers to strengthen its team as it challenges Tesco for pole position in general merchandise. As part of the move, which comes ahead of the much-anticipated launch of Tesco's non food home shopping venture in the coming months, Asda has undertaken a series of press ads highlighting the price difference between itself and Argos.
One ad features its own label Onn-branded 20-inch LCD TV, which costs £249 compared with £299.99 for what it claims is the Argos equivalent.
Meanwhile, Tesco is to open its second Home Plus non food store in September in Telford, Shropshire. It will come a year after the opening of the first non food-only format in Manchester last September. A Home Plus planned for Abderdeen was abandoned last year after problems arose with building regulations and the foundations (The Grocer, 12 November 2005, p11).
Tesco has also earmarked Bristol as a possible site for the new format.
Next week, The Grocer will reveal which supermarket is the cheapest for non food in our quarterly Non Food Report.
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