LONDON - Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, said it is considering a stock market listing for its British supermarket arm Asda, whose attempt to combine with rival Sainsbury’s was blocked by the UK regulator last month.
Britain’s competition regulator ruled Sainsbury’s 7.3 billion pound takeover of Asda could not proceed, blocking one potential exit route for Walmart from the UK. McKenna’s comments are the first time Walmart has publicly addressed its future strategy for Asda since the Sainsbury’s deal collapsed. Asda has reported seven consecutive quarters of like-for-like sales growth thanks to a strategy focused on lower prices, more innovation in own-brand products, better store standards and improvements in its e-commerce operations.