Aldi UK increases investment as discounter achieves record sales
- Annual sales rose by almost £2bn to £15.5bn during the year to December.
- This was a new record for the German supermarket in its 33-year history.
- The group attributed the increase in sales to its low prices amid rising costs
Aldi UK has stepped up its investment plans with £1.4bn of spending set aside for the next two years after sales soared to record levels amid the cost of living crisis.
The German discounter, which opened its first store in 1990, saw annual sales rise by almost £2bn to £15.5bn in the year to December 2022, reflecting growth of more than 17 percent and a new record in its 33-year history. .
The group, which attracted around a million more customers to its stores this year, attributed the increase in sales to high inflation.
He said consumer pressure has created “a new generation of savvy shoppers.” [who] have turned their backs on traditional full-price supermarkets.
The German discounter saw annual sales rise from almost £2bn to £15.5bn for the year to December 2022, a new record in its 33-year history.
The company, which overtook Morrisons last year to become Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket, rreported an operating profit of £178.7 million, up from £60.2 million a year earlier.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Although inflation is falling, households are still under real pressure due to rising living costs. As a result, Britain is shopping very differently to as I did 18 months ago: less trips, more own brand products and changing supermarkets in search of better prices.
‘What we are seeing is a new generation of savvy shoppers who have turned their backs on traditional full-price supermarkets in favor of low, transparent prices, which is what we are known for.
“That’s why we continue to welcome more and more customers through our doors: people who come to us for our low prices but stay for the award-winning quality of our exclusive brands.”
Earlier this month, the German discounter revealed an ambitious target to increase the number of British stores by 50 per cent.
It was already planning to open 1,200 outlets in the UK by the end of 2025, but is now targeting 1,500 stores in the long term to meet growing demand.
In its latest report, the company also said it had already invested more than £350m in price reductions so far this year on 650 items, with further reductions expected in the run-up to Christmas as inflation continues falling down.
This month alone, it lowered prices on 55 fruit and vegetable products, about a third of the range.
It said its UK investment rate would rise over the next two-year period to more than £1.4bn, including work to expand its distribution and store network, as well as upgrading existing stores and technology infrastructure to support growth.
Its expansion will create 6,000 new jobs in total this year, adding to the 6,000 permanent positions created last year.
Hurley added: “There are still communities across the UK that do not have easy access to quality, low-priced food and that is something we want to address through our expansion, with plans to increase our investment even further over the next two years to £1.4 billion in new and improved stores and distribution centres, creating thousands of jobs for our colleagues and more opportunities for our 5,000 British suppliers.’
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