{"id":1965,"date":"2019-11-08T17:13:29","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T17:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blackfridaydeals.co.uk\/?post_type=blog&p=1965"},"modified":"2022-11-09T17:32:36","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T17:32:36","slug":"why-asda-no-longer-participates-in-black-friday","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.blackfridaydeals.co.uk\/blog\/why-asda-no-longer-participates-in-black-friday.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Doesn’t Asda Participate in Black Friday?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you are probably already aware, Black Friday an American tradition that can trace its roots to the late 19th century when large department stores held their sales after Thanksgiving, a national holiday in America, to mark the start of the Christmas shopping season.<\/p>\n

The phenomenon of massive discounts began in the latter half of the 20th century, with retail giants like Walmart leading the way with price crashes that drew large crowds through the doors. So popular did Walmart\u2019s sales become, that in 2012, they actually opened their doors at 8pm on Thanksgiving day, receiving much criticism in the process.<\/p>\n

Walmart took over British supermarket Asda in 1999, but it wasn\u2019t until 2013 that the chain decided to attempt a Black Friday sale in the UK, presumably driven to do so by the success that online retail giant Amazon had with its UK Black Friday sales that began in 2010. However, just two years after Asda launched its Black Friday event, and despite many other retailers joining the bandwagon, the supermarket decided not to participate any further and in 2015 it announced that there would be no Black Friday sale that year. In the years that have followed, Asda have continued to ignore Black Friday.<\/p>\n

Wembley Woes<\/h2>\n
\"Outside
ASDA (TravellingLight \/ Bigstockphoto.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Asda held its first Black Friday sale in 2013 word quickly spread that the retailer was crashing prices on expensive, large electrical items, such as televisions and household white goods. As a result, large crowds were drawn to the stores, with many queueing from the early hours. As the Guardian reported<\/a> at the time, there were scenes of chaos in several of Asda\u2019s stores as shoppers clamoured for the bargains, with one woman reportedly injured in Merseyside and one man arrested in Bristol.<\/p>\n

However, undeterred by these initial troubles, Asda once again launched a Black Friday event in 2014. This time, however, the media had cottoned onto the possibility of scuffles, and reporters were stationed in Asda\u2019s Wembley branch. As the following tweet from the BBC\u2019s Zoe Conway<\/a>shows the media\u2019s predictions were correct, and customers were knocked over during the chaos that ensued as people ran to grab the best bargains. Further footage showed several fights between customers and in the days that followed Asda received significant criticism for its inability to control the situation.<\/p>\n

Asda\u2019s Withdrawal from Black Friday in 2015<\/h2>\n

\"blackAsda were not the only retailer that was faced with significant problems during Black Friday in 2014. As reported by the BBC<\/a>, there were multiple incidents in Tesco stores across the country that led to Greater Manchester Police appealing for calm. However, in the weeks that led up to Black Friday 2015, only Asda was amongst the retail giants to withdraw from the promotion.<\/p>\n

At the time, Asda denied that their decision to withdraw from the event was to do with the security incidents they had faced. Speaking to the Telegraph<\/a> in 2015, Asda\u2019s Chief Executive Andy Clarke stated:<\/p>\n

Over the last two years we’ve developed an organised, well-executed plan, but this year customers have told us loud and clear that they don’t want to be held hostage to a day or two of sales.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Customers knocked to the ground in the rush at Asda Wembley #BlackFriday<\/a> @BBCr4today<\/a> @BBCNews<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/7TXZVCfBFH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 zoe conway (@zoeconway1) November 28, 2014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n