Tripling its marketshare in Australia hasn’t been the end of German supermarket chain Aldi's growth, with plans to expand across South Australia and Western Australian in 2016.
Aldi plans to open its first 20 stores in South Australia, and a further 20 stores in Western Australia by December 2016, according to The Australian.
In the past ten years, Aldi has taken a share of the Australian retail market from dominant retailers Woolworths and Coles, increasing from 3.1 per cent to 11.16 per cent, according to the Roy Morgan Research Supermarket Currency Report.
As of March 2015, Woolworths maintained its dominant position with 38.5 per cent of the market, while Coles held 31.8 per cent.
Rumours that German discounter Lidl will open its first stores in Australia have yet to be confirmed, but Michele Levine, CEO of Roy Morgan Research, has said that a new competitor in the discount grocery market will pose a challenge of Aldi.
“Aldi will need to be vigilant — once its old rival Lidl opens its doors in Australia, there will likely be some customer crossover,” Levine said in a company statement. “In any case, we expect to see Aussie supermarkets focusing more on ‘customers’ than ever – understanding who they are, what their needs and drives are, and how to communicate with them and engage their loyalty.
'Certainly, consumers stand to benefit from this increasingly competitive market, with wider choices and better prices as supermarkets work even harder to consolidate or grow their customer bases.”
