Aldi to boost expansion with £1.4bn investment as profits triple

It comes as the discounter reported its operating profit had skyrocketed 196% to £178.7m in the 52 weeks to December 2022, up from £60.2m the year before.

Sales jumped 14% to £15.5bn, which it attributed to “a new generation of savvy shoppers turning their back on traditional, full price supermarkets”.

The supermarket, which operates more than 1,000 UK stores, plans to open 18 new outlets before the end of the year and create 6,000 new jobs.

To fund its expansion, the grocer is  upping its rate of investment to more than £1.4bn over the next two years. It will go towards increasing its store and distribution network, as well as improving existing stores and technology infrastructure to support its growth.

Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said: “Britain is shopping very differently to how it did 18 months ago – fewer trips, more own label products, and switching supermarkets in search of better value.

“What we’re seeing is a new generation of savvy shoppers who’ve turned their back on traditional, full-price supermarkets in favour of transparent, low prices, which is what we’re famous for.

“There are still communities across the UK that don’t have easy access to quality, low price groceries and that’s something we want to address through our expansion, with plans to increase our investment even further over the next two years to £1.4bn in new and improved stores and distribution centres, creating thousands of jobs for our colleagues and more opportunities for our 5,000 British suppliers.”

Grocery Gazette