Competition in the North's retail sector will grow more fierce today with the arrival of Asda.
Asda will open the first three of the 12 stores it acquired from the Morrisons group as part of a £30 million refurbishment programme. Stores in Bangor, Coleraine and Cookstown will open their doors to customers.
Asda is also refurbishing stores in Belfast, Ballyclare, Dundonald, Enniskillen, Kilkeel, Newtownards, Omagh and Strabane.
Asda's entry into the retail market follows in the footsteps of Tesco and Sainsbury's. Asda is owned by the world's largest retailer - American corporation Wal-Mart.
In June, the British Office of Fair Trading cleared the way for Asda to move into the North's market.
The supermarket giant's head of agriculture and local sourcing has moved to reassure local farmers that local produce would be an important part of Asda's business.
