Aldi has plans to open another 500 supermarkets in Britain
Aldi has plans to open another 500 supermarkets in Britain
- German supermarket opened its 1,000th UK store in Woking
- A year ago, Aldi surpassed Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth largest supermarket chain
- According to research agency Kantar, two-thirds of Britons now shop at Aldi
Aldi has unveiled an ambitious target to grow the number of UK stores by 50 per cent as shoppers continue to look for bargains amid the cost of living.
It already planned to open 1,200 stores in the UK by the end of 2025, but is now targeting 1,500 stores in the long term to meet growing demand.
To achieve this goal, the company says it plans to invest billions of pounds into the country’s economy, including £1.3 billion under an ongoing two-year investment plan.
The German supermarket announced the new target on the same day it opened its 1,000th UK store in Woking, Surrey, its 150th branch in the South East.
Expansion target: Discount retailer Aldi already planned to open 1,200 stores in the UK by the end of 2025, but is now targeting 1,500 stores in the long term
A year ago, the group surpassed Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket chain as rising inflation prompted cash-strapped consumers to shop more at discount retailers.
Food prices have soared over the past 18 months, reaching a record annual rate of 19.2 percent last March, partly because the war in Ukraine drove up energy bills and the cost of everyday staples like wheat and grains.
About two-thirds of Britons now shop at Aldi, an increase of 1.1 million on the previous year, according to data from market research firm Kantar.
But even before the conflict in Ukraine and the ensuing economic crisis, low prices had allowed the supermarket to gradually increase its market share for more than a decade.
Since 2009, Aldi has more than quadrupled its share of UK supermarket sales, from 2 percent to 10.2 percent for the 12 weeks ending Aug. 6the first time it crossed the double-digit threshold.
Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: ‘Our popularity is growing and there is a huge demand for people to have an Aldi store near them to increase customer access to our unbeatable prices.
“The next phase of our expansion will include another 500 new stores in the coming years. It is a long-term goal and is not a cap on our ambition to have an Aldi store close to everyone in Britain.”
Some supermarkets have responded to the rise in popularity of budget retailers like Aldi and Lidl by promising to keep them level on pricing for key products.
Sainsbury’s now has more than 400 goods as part of its Aldi Price Match campaign, while Tesco has more than 500 in its equivalent campaign.