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Asda waves its British flag

Posted in General March 28th, 2007 by Nikki Preston

There are very few similarities when it comes to low-cost retailer Asda and luxury fashion brand Burberry.

However, the folks at Asda, who are not shy about blowing their own trumpets, have said that while brands like Burberry are moving their factories overseas Asda is at least still committed to supporting UK trade with the launch of its “Made in the UK” fashion label under the George brand.

Talk about comparing apples to pears as I doubt anyone who shops at Asda also shops at Burberry – they are at completely different ends of the spectrum. And Asda shouldn’t forget that Burberry will still have a factory in the UK even after the one in Wales closes.

Personally, if I was to buy clothes from Asda it surely wouldn’t be because I wanted to support local trade, it would more likely be because of the low price tag on the item rather than its heritage.

The US-owned retailer has also pledged to grow all the ingredients needed to make an Indian curry locally in the last week. Again, I am sure the move to grow Doodhi, Mooli, baby aubergines and Karela is a direct response to meeting customers’ demands for an English-grown Indian meal, but is instead its attempt to help British farmers broaden their offerings.

Although introducing a Britsh clothing range and growing a few herbs and spices are relatively small actions in the whole scheme of things, Asda is at least showing customers that it is trying to exercise greater environmental awareness.

Perhaps Asda’s real sign of its commitment to the UK is still to come as rumours continue to escalate about its plans to snap up rival chain Somerfied.