Discount grocer of the year Aldi is poised to provide a huge boost to employment by creating 4,500 jobs in a multi-million pound expansion. The German retailer, which increased its market share by 54 per cent in June, is planning to open 40 new outlets by the end of 2013, bringing its total UK owned and leased commercial property holding to over 500 stores.
The company prefers to purchase freehold and is particularly interested in completing the acquisition of town centre or edge of centre sites which are suitable for development. However, they are also happy to consider leasing new or existing space on retail parks or existing town centre premises.
Aldi’s success is attributed to working with a growing range of UK suppliers to provide more fresh food. This has resulted in sales of fresh meat, fruit and veg and bakery products rising considerably. Add to this the fact that more middle class families are searching for bargains in these cash strapped times and it’s easy to see why turnover has risen by nearly 30 per cent. Retail analyst John Pal says no-one should be surprised by the rise of Aldi.
“This is, after all,” he said, “the German retailer that saw off the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, in its home country a number of years ago.”
Joint managing director Roman Heini promises that customers can save around a third on their grocery bill by doing their weekly shop at Aldi instead of one of the big four.
“Aldi has become more relevant to British consumers,” he said. “They can buy what they need and want at Aldi, at a price they like.”
John Pal says the problem Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrison’s will face is that they may find it difficult to attract these discount shoppers back when the economic climate improves.
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