Editing Asda (section)

===1960s and 1970s===
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]], a town in which Asda has a distribution centre to this day.<ref name=asquith/>

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 ('''As'''quith + '''Da'''iries) (capitalised from 1985).<ref name=noel/>

By 1967, the company had set up a store in [[Billingham]], [[County Durham]]. By 1969, Noel Stockdale bought out the Asquith brothers' stake and became chairman of the company.<ref name=noel/>

Asda took advantage of the abolition of [[retail price maintenance]] to offer large-scale, low-cost supermarkets. This was aided by the decision to acquire three struggling US-owned branches in the mid-1960s of the [[G. E. M. Membership Department Stores|GEM]] retail group. The Government Exchange Mart stores in [[Preston, Lancashire]], [[Cross Gates, Leeds]] and [[West Bridgford]], [[Nottinghamshire]], had accumulated losses of £320,000 and offered to sell the stores for 20% of whatever Asda could recoup as losses from the [[Inland Revenue]]. They received the whole amount back. The rent was only 10 shillings (50p) per square foot on a 20-year lease, with no rent reviews, Asda increased GEM's £6,000 per week sales to around £60,000 per week in just six months with the new stores named as Asda.<ref name="outoftown">{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Jon |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23900465 |title=How first out-of-town superstore changed the UK |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=3 September 2013 |access-date=3 September 2013 |archive-date=4 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904233113/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23900465 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://your.asda.com/about-asda/the-history-of-asda |title=Asda through the years |access-date=24 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422102646/http://your.asda.com/about-asda/the-history-of-asda |archive-date=22 April 2015 }}</ref>

During the 1970s, with over 30 stores in the north of England, Asda began expanding south, with the opening of new stores in the [[Estover]] area of [[Plymouth]], [[Devon]] and [[Gosport]], [[Hampshire]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://christchurchgosport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/christ_church_history.pdf|title=Christ Church, Gosport: A history|page=22|year=2009|access-date=2 May 2019|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502183737/https://christchurchgosport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/christ_church_history.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1978, Asda acquired [[Allied Carpets]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/1999/aug/29/highstreetretailers.observerbusiness|title=Trapped in a shag pile time warp|date=29 August 1999|work=The Guardian|access-date=2 May 2019|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502185235/https://www.theguardian.com/business/1999/aug/29/highstreetretailers.observerbusiness|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1982, the first [[London]] store opened in [[Park Royal]], near [[Ealing]]. The [[Isle of Dogs]] and [[Charlton, London]] stores followed on rapidly thereafter.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://charltonchampion.co.uk/2016/02/18/goodbye-asda-hello-housing-new-greenwich-council-consultation-offers-clues-to-charlton-riverside-plans/ | title=Goodbye Asda, hello housing? New Greenwich Council consultation offers clues to Charlton Riverside plans | date=18 February 2016 | publisher=Charlton Champion | access-date=2 May 2019 | archive-date=2 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502190425/https://charltonchampion.co.uk/2016/02/18/goodbye-asda-hello-housing-new-greenwich-council-consultation-offers-clues-to-charlton-riverside-plans/ | url-status=live }}</ref>