Aldi will pump £1.6bn into opening 80 new stores over the next two years as it looks to try and inject some renewed momentum into its sales.
The grocer previously said it would invest £650m in opening 30 new stores throughout 2025.
Aldi is opting to grow sales rather than boost profitability at the moment, with its investments in infrastructure contributing to a 21% decline in operating profit to £435.5m in 2024, according to its annual results, out this week. The company said lower prices and higher wages were also a factor.
Aldi’s sales growth also stuttered, with revenue up just 1.1% to £18.1bn last year. The supermarket appears to have regathered momentum in 2025, however, with the latest Kantar figures showing sales up 4.8% year on year to help it overtake Asda as the UK’s third-biggest supermarket.
Giles Hurley, CEO for Aldi UK & Ireland, said Aldi was now in almost 800 towns and cities, but there were hundreds more that still did not have one nearby.
“We’re more determined than ever to meet that demand, and that’s why we’re investing a record £1.6bn over the next two years, to bring Aldi prices closer to millions more customers,” he said.
These include 21 openings over the next 13 weeks including in Shoreditch in London, Durham in the north east, and Kirkintilloch in Scotland.
The retailer currently has 1,060 stores, with plans to expand to 1,500 stores across the UK. Aldi has already confirmed 20 other priority locations including Bromley and Ealing in Greater London, South Shields in Tyne & Wear, and Witney in Oxfordshire.
Hurley previously criticised the UK’s planning system as too slow and blamed it for inhibiting Aldi’s expansion plans.
The process of securing planning permission for a new store had lengthened from 12 weeks to up to three years, he told The Grocer.
“It won’t ever stop us but it slows us down. And the slowdown, we think, is bad for the country because it slows down investments, it slows down job creation, whether that’s in the construction or the jobs we bring with our stores.”
Hurley said planning objections from competitors also delayed new stores.
Aldi became the first grocer to pay shopworkers a minimum hourly rate of £13 from this month, helping it cement its title as the UK’s best-paying supermarket.
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