Aldi has plans to open 500 more supermarket stores in Britain
- German supermarket opened its 1,000th UK store in Woking
- A year ago, Aldi surpassed Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-largest grocer
- Two-thirds of Britons now shop at Aldi, according to research agency Kantar
Aldi has revealed an ambitious goal to grow the number of British stores by 50 per cent as shoppers continue to seek bargains amid the cost-of-living crisis.
It was already planning to open 1,200 outlets in the UK by the end of 2025 but is now targeting 1,500 shops over the long term to satisfy growing demand.
To achieve the objective, the firm says it intends to invest billions of pounds in the country’s economy, including £1.3billion under a current two-year investment plan.
The German supermarket announced the new goal on the same day it opened its 1,000th UK store in Woking, Surrey, its 150th site in the South East.
Expansion goal: Discount retailer Aldi was already planning to open 1,200 outlets in the UK by the end of 2025 but is now targeting 1,500 shops over the long term
A year ago, the group surpassed Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-largest grocer as soaring inflation led cash-strapped consumers to do more of their shopping at discount retailers.
Food prices have risen massively in the past 18 months, hitting a record annual rate of 19.2 per cent last March, partly due to the Ukraine war driving up energy bills and costs of everyday staples like wheat and grains.
About two-thirds of Britons now shop with Aldi, a 1.1 million rise on the previous year, according to data from market research agency Kantar.
But even before the Ukraine conflict and resulting economic crisis, low prices had helped the supermarket gradually boost its market share for over a decade.
Since 2009, Aldi has enlarged its share of UK grocery sales more than fivefold, from 2 per cent to 10.2 per cent for the 12 weeks ending 6 August, the first time it had crossed the double-digit threshold.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: ‘Our popularity is growing, and there is huge demand for people to have an Aldi store near to them to increase shoppers’ access to our unbeatable prices.
‘The next phase of our expansion will involve another 500 new stores over the coming years. It is a long-term target and is not a ceiling to our ambition to have an Aldi store close to everyone in the UK.’
Some supermarkets have responded to the rising popularity of budget retailers like Aldi and Lidl by vowing to equal them on prices for key products.
Sainsbury’s now has over 400 goods as part of its Aldi Price Match campaign, while Tesco has more than 500 in its equivalent campaign.