Aldi is to invest £800m – its largest ever package of annual investment – in accelerating its expansion across Britain as the discounter reported record sales and profits last year.
The supermarket plans to open 23 new locations before the end of the year, including Muswell Hill, London and Caterham, Surrey.
It it also refurbishing 100 existing stores this year, as well as expanding its network of distribution centres and updating technology infrastructure to support its growth and long-term ambition of having 1,500 stores across the UK.
It comes as for the 12 months to December 2023, Aldi’s sales increased by £2.4bn to £17.9bn, an increase of 16% – its highest ever period of sales growth.
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Pre-tax profit also increased to £536.7m, up from £152.6m in 2022, which the discounter said was driven by record sales combined with greater efficiencies across its stores and central functions.
Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said: “British shoppers are voting with their feet and choosing Aldi as their first-choice supermarket. We’re responding with our biggest ever annual investment in Britain.
“For every £1 of profit generated last year, we’re investing £2 this year – opening more stores and building the supply infrastructure to bring high-quality, affordable groceries to millions more families the length and breadth of Britain.
“We’re also investing at record levels to cut prices, reward our amazing colleagues and support more causes in our local communities. All while creating thousands more jobs and even more opportunities for our growing base of British suppliers and farmers.”
Aldi has invested almost £100m in over 300 price cuts in the last three months and spent an extra £1.3bn with its 5,000 British suppliers last year.
Hurley added: “As we head towards the Christmas trading period, we’re all set to launch our biggest and best-ever seasonal range, including hundreds of premium range products at unbeatable prices for our customers.”
