Asda plans to push its non food offer harder by devoting extra floor space. Twelve superstores will get an extra 5,000 sq ft of non-food space this year by reducing the food hall by 15%. Lines will not be cut back, but footage will be used more effectively. A 75:25 ratio could be reduced to 55:45. In addition a new style 25,000 sq ft store will open in April at Bodmin in Cornwall as part of another trial. The food hall will take up 17,000 sq ft. Asda is now looking at other non food areas and says jewellery is the next potential opportunity. The non food price message will get pushed harder. The chain admitted last year many of its consumers wrongly thought Superdrug was cheaper. The chain also revealed it has now started "piggy-backing" on Wal-Mart global shopping trips and said it was now completely aligned with its US parent, buying non-food at the same time as Wal-Mart to get cost benefit. Asda also plans to concentrate less on Rollback instore advertising in food, and more on the Asda price tag in the future. Food business units director Dave Cheesewright said customers currently didn't always realise how good its prices were. He admitted: "Rollback banners had become like wallpaper for customers ­ now it's less is more." He added: "EDLP is right for us ­ we can play the game longer than anyone else." CEO Paul Mason said reorganising the business was also key to streamlined success. "There is no part of the business I haven't restructured in the last 6 months - I've taken a layer out of the trading department to make it more responsive. You need to be lean, mean and focused." {{NEWS }}

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