Aldi has named Matthew Barnes – the head of buying at its Australian business – as its new UK managing director.

The appointment fills the void left by the departure of former UK chief Paul Foley, who unexpectedly parted company with the discounter in August.

Armin Burger, who has had responsibility for Aldi Süd's international growth since 2007, had stepped into Foley’s shoes on a temporary basis.

Barnes takes over with Aldi facing a major slowdown in its UK growth, after previously emerging as one of the big winners from the economic slowdown. Recent figures from Nielsen indicated its sales grew by just 3.3% in the month to 5 September.


Aldi’s sales confirm ‘end of age of rapid discounter growth’ (3/10/09)
Goodbye The Big Deal: Burger makes his presence felt at Aldi (5/9/09)
Aldi begins search for new MD after Foley’s shock exit (12/8/09)


Can Barnes get Aldi back on its stellar growth track despite the discounters' loss of momentum? How would you shake things up? Click 'Post a comment' to have your say.