Millions of shoppers flock to ASDA day in, day out. With its budget ranges and huge variety of groceries, fashion and homeware products, the supermarket is a firm favourite with Brits up and down the land.
Everyone recognises ASDA's large green sign - but it seems few people realise what the name actually stands for. There is, in fact, a long history behind the meaning of ASDA, reports the Manchester Evening News.
ASDA was launched by the Asquith family, who were butchers based in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. In the 1920s, they expanded their business to seven butcher shops in the area.
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Around the same time, a group of West Riding dairy farmers, including the Stockdale family and Craven Dairies, joined under the banner of JW Hindell Dairy Farmers Ltd. The company diversified in 1949 to become Associated Dairies and Farm Stores Ltd, with Arthur Stockdale as the managing director.
In 1963, the Asquith brothers converted an old cinema, the Queens in Castleford, into a self-service supermarket. Another followed in the old indoor market at Edlington.
Both stores traded under the name of 'Queens'. Their next store was a purpose-built supermarket in South Elmsall.
In 1965, the Asquith brothers approached Associated Dairies to run the butchery departments within their small store chain. A merger was proposed and the Asquiths' business was joined with Noel Stockdale's to form a new company, ASDA (Asquith + Dairies).
It has been capitalised as ASDA since 1965. Newsreader Alastair Stewart recently tweeted: "Without Google, do you know what the name ASDA derives from?"
The question left some people feeling "stupid". Someone wrote: "I don't know anything without Google, so no." Another said: "No, sorry, but about 35 years ago I used to know what BEJAM stood for! It was all the initials of the owners/children, I think! We had to learn about the company to 'earn' stars on our name badges, like McDs!"
Some did know what it stood for, though. One woman gushed: "YES! I had a four-week summer job on George and they had a week's training about this!"
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