What’s actually wrong with ASDA?

[Stopitjuststopit2018]

I never knew that it was seen as “low end” until recently, escalated by the merger news. I think they have nice own brand stuff, are good value, and their stores are well presented with lots of variety . I find the George clothing nice as well and it doesn’t rip or bobble as much as some of the other supermarket brand clothes.

Is the view that it’s chavvy a southern thing?

ASDA is definitely not in the same league as Sainsbury and, since the were the only supermarket I knew which actually came out for remaining in the EU, I now boycott them.

We tried Asda recently (online). It was awful, not to my taste. They substituted a lot. But I hate Sainsbury’s too.

Everyone has their oreferences. I prefer Ocado (I buy own brand with a bit of Waitrose), Aldi/Lidl and Tesco.

Asda fresh fruit and veg is tasteless shit.

I'm Scottish and love my local Asda. Great pizzas and curries. Also their own brand cereals taste the same as branded and are much cheaper.

I've been in two separate Asda stores in England and was shocked at how different they were from the ones in Scotland. Both were laid out horribly, very dark and untidy and seemed cluttered. If my local one was anything like them I wouldn't shop there.

Our local one is shit. Isles and isles of high processed, sugar saturated shit and one apple ( if you’re lucky)
I appreciate They are not allthe same.

I didn't realise Tesco was one of the "better" supermarkets I've been to probably 5 or 6 and they all seemed to look grubby to me, put me right off buying stuff.

I always shop at asda and love it, I live closer to a Morrisons but prefer asda. My local morrisons seems to have short expiry dates on things like bread or potatoes. I can't say anything about any supermarket meat because I buy it from the local butchers. I think asdas own brand mature cheddar is nicer than Sainsbury's and Cathedral City, I prefer asda Jaffa Cakes to the real ones and their own pizzas that they make for you are the best.

They leave the tins of beans in the boxes, their crockery is too thick and they don't sell tin baths. Or the coal to fill said baths with.

Ready meals are splodged out of a machine and they're gross...

Anyway, a lot of the ones near me are old and manky, so I think it depends a lot on what you local one is like. The one in Ealing, where I used to live, is beautiful compared to the one here...I just don't want to go there anymore.

I think it can be very shop dependent too. I don't really like our Tesco much just because it doesn't have a nice atmosphere and the aisles are very narrow. However, the waitrose has a bit of an odd smell, burnt bitter coffee mixed with something I can't identify. It puts me off a bit.

We also shop in Costco for tins/cupboard stuff and meat.

DH won't set foot in Asda since the time we went one Sunday morning and saw a drunk, top less man, swigging from a can of lager, while he handled the fruit and veg. I don't know what upset DH more - the fact the man's sweaty belly was pressing against the produce, or that he was bleeding from a face wound and dripping as he went along.

My nearest supermarket is a big Asda. I live in Hampshire in the catchment of the top performing state comps in Hants. I tell you this to suggest desireable. This supermarket is absolutely fine. It does what it says on the tin. When we want 'posh' we go to the Waitrose, 1 mile away. The kids' clothes are okay; the adult clothing tends to be 'slapper/ dedicated football fan ..'. It is a Broad Church .

For ASDA:
Accessible, cheaper petrol. Pay at pump without getting stuck behind kiosk faffers.
Good for emergency children's birthday present gifts.
Handy for random bits and pieces- bought a cheap pillow case to cut into a nativity costume.

Against ASDA:
No such thing as a "quick pop in shop" for food. At least 30 minutes to park up, trek across car park, trek to back of store for milk, trek to tills and have self service screeching down your lugs. Too vast.
Claustrophobic towering shelves.
Poor quality meat... remembers the kebabs that dripped through the BBQ... one survived long enough to be cooked and it was horrid, all gritty. House mate bought a giant pack of value bacon and was gutted when it evaporated Own brands not great.
Regularly moving stock. Can be an illogical layout compared to other supermarkets.
Wierd clothes sizing, size "8" more like a 12... if you can actually find it in there. Designed for women with large busts and arms like a skewer that don't actually move more than 5 degrees. DS was 3 or 4 before he grew into the age 6-9 month shorts that were bought for him.
Cafe is a McDonalds (Ok, my last visit was for that )

I do pop in a few times a year but not for food or clothes.

Oddly the ASDA and Morrisons are equidistant from me on opposite sides of the same neighbourhoods. On paper, Morrisons probably closer to a rougher end of a neighbourhood. This isn't reflected in who actually goes to each shop.

What is wrong with Asda is that they are owned by Walmart. I sincerely hope that the merger doesn't go through. If it does, I shall cash in my (hopefully much more valuable) shares and abandon my life-long Sainsbury's loyalty.

My local ASDA used to stock an organic chocolate granola (so good). Alas, not for a long time...

Our massive Asda is just round the corner in a nice part of town (on the site of the UK’s first hypermarket, btw). The fresh bread is still shit and things like the fresh pizzas are too. Shit range of things like Free Range chicken. Just generally lacking in a wider range of better choices.

Really really don’t like Asda, a lot of their own brand food goes off before the date and veg is second worst only to Aldi.

Sainsbury’s and Tesco just get it right.

My 2 nearest massive stores (Tesco and Sainsbury’s) are nigh on perfect.

I thought they were being sold by Walmart though, so if the merger goes through, they will be owned by Sainsbury's, not Walmart.

Asda is great.

Lidl for the weird aisle

Should I go to Lidl for this? I've never been in the UK. How weird is weird?

My Asda isn't handy so I don't go a lot, but I like it. It has the happiest, nicest staff and a very friendly atmosphere. It has a post office, massive toiletries / cosmetics section, a lot of the own brand things are great (especially the coleslaw and their blank decorate-your-own fruitcakes). I don't like the clothes much but I do pick up things like socks and tights. And it has a great home section with some surprisingly cool stuff for a supermarket. I have mugs, bathmat and storage jars that look more like they came from Habitat. I love a leisurely trip there on my own to browse.

I quite like Asda for the cupboard stuff, which is the same as anywhere else but really good value and George is OK, too. I also like the household products.

But the fruit and veg is not as good as other supermarkets - it doesn't taste as good and doesn't last as long.

I also don't touch the meat

I wouldn't even know where to find one in London. I've only been twice and found it depressing, everything looked a bit more processed there and bog roll was cheaper at Waitrose...

Suffolk bod here, moved to Yorkshire 3 years ago and now back. Not because of Asda though! It's most definitely a northern supermarket, I missed the co-op!! But found a few little ones. However, can't knock Asda up there...

Impossible to source higher welfare food in an Asda, I can't do our weekly shop in one. I found the kids clothes on the whole very geared towards 'characters' which I'm not keen on.

I get my weekly shop from Sainsbury's but there's an ASDA just round the corner where I get odd bits and pieces. It's no use to me as a weekly place to shop as everything seems geared towards families and they don't really cater for me.

I do buy quite a lot of their clothes, they do a great range of cardies for £8, dresses and such like. They also do 100% cotton pyjamas which is a big plus.

Their baked goods taste awful, it must be the cheap ingredients they use.