Aldi to expand into 130 new stores as sales rocket to £10.2bn
German supermarket giant Aldi today announced major plans to open 130 new stores in the UK on the back of impressive sales growth last year.
The expansion will create 5,000 new jobs in the UK, Aldi says, and is a big step on the way to the firm reaching its target of setting up 1,000 stores by 2022. It currently has around 775 stores open in the UK.
Aldi said it grew sales by 16.4 per cent last year in the UK and Ireland to a record £10.2bn, while operating profit rose 26 per cent to £265.9m.
Read more: Aldi and Lidl continue to attract customers – what impact will Jack’s have?
In an effort to compete with growing competition from Aldi and fellow German shop Lidl, Tesco is set to launch a spin-off budget store called Jack's in the next few weeks.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said:
Our future investment plans underline our continued commitment to growing responsibly in the UK.
That means having a positive and lasting impact on the economies where we operate and improving the lives of British people.
Our fundamental purpose remains – to bring outstanding quality groceries at the lowest prices for our customers, creating jobs and supporting British farming and manufacturing.
In 2020, Aldi will have been serving British shoppers for 30 years. In that time, we've become part of the fabric of British life. We're proud to be reaffirming our commitment today.