Overview
- .asda is a proposed brand gTLD submitted under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- Applicant: Wal‑Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart).
- Registry (as listed in the application template): Verisign.
- Intended purpose: to serve as a trusted, hierarchical, and intuitive namespace for ASDA customers and internet users, consolidating ASDA/Walmart online identity and services.
History
- Proposed as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program; application revealed on 13 June 2012.
- The .asda application is part of a group of Walmart family gTLD applications that include .WALMART, .SAMSCLUB, .GEORGE, and .一号店.
- Status in the application template: Proposed brand gTLD.
Usage and Audience
- Intended primary users:
- Walmart, ASDA, and Walmart's qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
- Intended use cases:
- Consolidation of ASDA/Walmart online services and eCommerce platforms.
- A secure channel for product information, marketing and promotional efforts.
- Context from the applicant:
- ASDA operates more than 500 stores across the UK.
- ASDA was reported as having net sales of $31.8 billion in FY 2011.
- ASDA.com is described as a significant UK grocery home shopping network, serving a very large share of UK customers.
Registration Rules
- Walmart intended to initially limit registration and use of .asda domain names to Walmart, ASDA, and Walmart's qualified subsidiaries and affiliates.
- The limited initial distribution was intended to allow Walmart to establish registry operations and sustainability.
- The application references compliance with Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement; this limited distribution was presented as a basis to seek exemption from annual Code of Conduct compliance requirements.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Stated goals for the .asda gTLD include:
- Protecting ASDA's online presence and identity.
- Expanding marketing and promotional capabilities tied directly to the ASDA brand.
- Providing a secure, brand-controlled channel for product and customer information.
- Consolidating intellectual property activities under a brand-controlled namespace.
- The .asda gTLD was planned as a .BRAND gTLD, aligning it with strategies to reinforce brand trust and control over online branding and commerce.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Walmart applied for several related brand gTLDs alongside .asda, including .WALMART, .SAMSCLUB, .GEORGE, and the Chinese-string .一号店.
- ASDA's existing eCommerce presence (ASDA.com) was cited in the application as a major online channel that the .asda gTLD would complement.
Operator
Asda Stores Limited
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: ASDA
organisation: Asda Stores Limited
address: Great Wilson St
address: Leeds LS11 5AD
address: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
contact: administrative
name: Project and Process Manager
organisation: Asda Stores Limited
address: Great Wilson St
address: Leeds LS11 5AD
address: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone: +44 20 70 15 17 17
e-mail: ngtld-asda@cscglobal.com
contact: technical
name: Howard Eland, Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Identity Digital Inc.
address: 10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address: Bellevue WA 98004
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1.425.298.2200
fax-no: +1.425.671.0020
e-mail: tldtech@identity.digital
nserver: A0.NIC.ASDA 2a01:8840:6e:0:0:0:0:43 65.22.112.43
nserver: A2.NIC.ASDA 2a01:8840:71:0:0:0:0:43 65.22.115.43
nserver: B0.NIC.ASDA 2a01:8840:6f:0:0:0:0:43 65.22.113.43
nserver: C0.NIC.ASDA 2a01:8840:70:0:0:0:0:43 65.22.114.43
ds-rdata: 26782 8 2 dea162d88db4bf889a745ff70cc6d0e56245350e4aecddb262cdb1a0663347df
whois: whois.nic.asda
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://www.asda.com
created: 2016-07-21
changed: 2024-12-17
source: IANA
