Asda leaves purchase alliance EMD

British Asda left purchase alliance EMD on 1 January. It joined the group early 2016, but prefers to deal manufacturers directly from now on.

Largest European purchase alliance

“EMD was the right partner for us at the time and they helped us strengthen our own buying capabilities. Our approach has evolved over the last few years but we regard EMD as a great organisation and leave having enjoyed a positive relationship with them”, CEO Andrew Moore said.

EMD, short for European Marketing Distribution, is Europe’s largest purchase alliance, founded in 1989. It has fourteen members, which have more than 155,000 store locations across 21 countries and a combined turnover of 160 billion euro. Dutch Superunie is also part of the group and Russian Lenta joined recently as well.