LONDON (AP) — The retailer Asda Group Ltd., a unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., unveiled a $776 million expansion that will create more than 9,000 jobs this year, and challenged suppliers to cut costs as customers tighten their belts amid rising living costs.

Britain's No. 2 retailer by sales behind Tesco PLC plans to open up to 22 stores and build 12 extensions, totalling 800,000 square feet, after attracting two million new customers through its doors last year.

Asda grew faster than all its major competitors both in terms of comparable and total sales in 2007, CEO Andy Bond told reporters at a briefing.

Asda's annual comparable sales from stores open at least a year, excluding fuel, were up in the "mid-single digits," with total sales increasing in the "high-single digits."

While avoiding giving specific sales figures, Bond told reporters that Asda's 2007 total sales came in between eight percent to 10 percent higher, and about one percent ahead of its target.

William Morrison Supermarkets PLC's recent resurgence is not a problem for Asda, Bond said, adding that Morrison is recapturing former Safeway supermarket customers. Morrison acquired Safeway — unrelated to the US Safeway Inc. — in March 2004 for $5.8 billion, but failed to integrate the business as well as expected.

Amid rising commodity and fuel prices, Bond called on its suppliers to be more efficient and productive so that customers are not stung with higher prices, saying, "We would like to see some demonstrable evidence on how they're tackling costs."