Attracting over a million new shoppers, Aldi enjoyed a sales rise of 16.4 per cent in 2017 and saw its market share grow faster than that of any other supermarket.
Sales in the UK and Ireland rose from £8.7 billion to £10.2bn in the year to 31 December 2017 – a higher growth rate than in the previous year (13.5 per cent) and over five times faster than the overall grocery market, which grew by three per cent.
Now Britain’s fifth largest retailer with over 775 stores, Aldiwelcomed a further 1.1m shoppers through its doors in 2017, according to Kantar Worldpanel, with the supermarket now accounting for 7.6 per cent of all UK grocery spend.
The average number of items bought by Aldi customers per trip also rose to over 19 – the highest in the sector. Some of the discounter’s best-performing products were its Specially Selected premium range, which now generates sales of over £1bn a year.
Aldi said that over 200 new products have been introduced this year, with over 30 per cent of its range reformulated to further improve product quality.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “The revolution in British grocery shows no sign of slowing. Savvy customers know they can swap and save with Aldi, thanks to great quality products at lower prices. This is happening on a massive scale, with more than 1.1m new customers shopping with us throughout 2017.
“While other grocers introduced more complexity into their businesses in their struggle to win back customers, we stuck to our guns and focused on doing what Aldi does best – buying smart, staying lean, improving quality and keeping prices low.
“Our biggest strength is our simplicity– a carefully selected range ofexclusive own-label brands and award-winning products at the lowest prices. Millions of Britons can put fantastic-tasting food on their table every day of the week, at prices they can afford.”
Last year Aldi announced a £1bn capex investment to open new stores across the UK, upgrade hundreds of stores and extend distribution centres throughout 2017 and 2018. The retailer said it remains “firmly on course” to hit this target.
Looking further ahead, Aldi said it would open a further 130 new stores between 2019 and 2020, while continuing to invest in its Project Fresh initiative – a £300m investment to create more in store space for fresh, chilled and food-to-go ranges, as well as simpler layouts, improved fixtures and brighter, wider aisles.
Over 200 existing stores will have been converted to the new format by the end of this year and a further 380 stores by the end of 2021.
To fuel its expanded store network, three new Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs) are already planned for Sheppey (Kent), Sawley (Derbyshire) and Bedford in the coming years, as well as extensions to existing centres in Darlington and Bathgate (West Lothian).
