Aldi plans another 100 stores as expansion drive continues

The supermarket, which already operates 920 UK outlets, plans to open the stores by the end of 2023 and says it will create 2,000 jobs in the process.

It is also expanding its logistics infrastructure with a number of developments including a new 1.3 million sq ft site in Leicestershire.

It revealed plans for store growth as its latest financial figures for the 12 months to December 2020 were released today.

Aldi saw its sales for the 12-month period grow by 10.2% to £13.5bn, while pre-tax profits dipped by 2.5% to £265m.

In its annual trading update, Aldi said sales in the UK and Ireland had grown to a record £13.5bn in 2020 compared with £12.3bn the previous year.

Aldi said profits had been dampened by its continued investment in price and the cost of responding to the pandemic claiming that it had “put people before profits” and focused on feeding the nation.

Further investment is being made into its click and collect service and technology initiatives to support further growth.

This includes the trial of a new checkout-free concept store in Greenwich, London, which will use a system of cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence to identify the items customers take from shelves, alleviating the need to go through a checkout.

The supermarket said that offering its customers the lowest possible prices remained its number one focus, and it was committed to helping ease financial pressures on household budgets.

The company claims that in the last 12 weeks alone, it has welcomed 600,00 new customers to its stores.