One two three four, happy days... For Asda staff, one year on after the deal means feeling part of the Wal-Mart "family". Gordon Corner (left) works at Asda's Bishopbriggs store in Scotland and says up until now, Wal-Mart has done little to change the day to day lives of its new staff. "But I think this year will see the greatest change ­ just look at the power of its IT systems." He also thinks prices will start to fall in store and stateside marketing initiatives become more commonplace: "The philosophies are the same ­ and through the Buddying scheme we're sharing store floor strategies all the time." He says there's even talk of people swaps between buddy stores, enabling Asda staff to work in the United States and giving their Wal-Mart contemporaries the chance to come to the UK. A paid up member of the share scheme, Corner is also seeing the benefits of global power through a £500,000 refurb of his Scottish store. And after nearly 40 years working for a "bureaucratic" rail company, Corner welcomes Asda's "flatter" management structure, and says the company will only become more streamlined as a result of the deal. "Allan Leighton wears a Happy to help' badge at his desk, just like all of us," Corner smiles. {{COVER FEATURE }}

Topics