Aldi will create 2,000 new jobs roles next year and launch 100 new stores as part of a £1.3 billion investment drive.
The discount supermarket chain said the expansion, which will run over two years, comes after sales soared by 10.2% in the UK and Ireland last year.
Advertisement
Advertisement
We want to hear from you: let us know what you think about this story and be part of the debate in our comments section below
At a glance: 5 key points
- The £1.3 billion investment drive will create 2,000 new jobs and 100 new stores.
- Aldi has already created 7,000 new jobs in the last two years created and has 920 stores in operation.
- The supermarket has announced plans for a new check-out free store in Greenwich, London, plus a new 1.3 million sq ft site in Leicestershire.
- Aldi said its click and collect services have been rolled out to 200 stores, offering customers the chance to order online for the first time, but home deliveries are still not available.
- Aldi bosses reveal sales soared 10.2% in the UK and Ireland in 2020 to £12.3 billion, adding that its customer numbers increased from 17.6 million to 17.8 million, but pre-tax profits fell 12.5% to £264.8 million.
What's been said
Chief executive for Aldi UK and Ireland, Giles Hurley, said: “As well as delivering record sales, we continued to invest for growth, deploying over £600 million in stores and distribution centres across the UK.
“This helped to create thousands of much-needed jobs and support for British farmers and manufacturers.
“Whilst the cost of responding to the pandemic dampened profits, our decision to return business rate relief was the right thing to do.”
Background
Advertisement
Advertisement
While other UK-based supermarkets provide more regular updates on their current trading, Aldi does not and is instead publishing last year's results.
However, trading details were not immediately provided during the first nine months of 2021.
Aldi repaid the business rates saved from the government’s scrapping of the tax during the pandemic, following similar moves by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Lidl.
A message from the editor:
Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.