Aldi own label sales soar as shoppers flock to the discount supermarket

Giles Hurley said ‘a new generation of savvy shoppers’ are ‘flocking’ to Aldi and buying more own-label goods in a bid to trim their grocery bills.

The comments came as Aldi revealed revenues hit £15.5bn last year – an alltime high and up 14pc on the previous 12 months – while profits almost trebled to £178.7m.

Aldi’s share of the UK grocery market has grown to more than 10%

Having already overtaken Morrisons to become the country’s fourth-largest grocer, Aldi now wants to open 500 more UK stores in the coming years to take the total to 1,500.

The German-owned chain also announced plans to spend £1.4bn over the next two years opening new sites, refurbishing existing ones and expanding its distribution network.

Hurley said: ‘Although inflation is easing, households are still under real pressure from higher living costs.

‘As a result, Britain is shopping very differently to how it did 18 months ago – fewer trips, more own-label products, and switching supermarkets in search of better value.

‘What we’re seeing is a new generation of savvy shoppers who’ve turned their back on traditional, full-price supermarkets in favour of transparent, low prices, which is what we’re famous for.

‘Customers are flocking to us.’ Aldi attracted an extra 1m customers last year and has made £350m of price cuts across 650 products this year – with more promised by Christmas.

However, both Aldi and Lidl lost ground over the summer as larger rivals including Tesco and Sainsbury’s announced a wave of price reductions to entice shoppers back. Both Tesco and Sainsbury’s have an ‘Aldi price match’ promise. Britain’s biggest supermarkets are engaged in a major price war as they seek to win over shoppers worried about their bills.

‘[Consumer confidence] moves pretty fast,’ said Hurley.

‘Recently there have been reports that consumer sentiment is improving, clearly that is positive and we welcome that.

‘Customers are still under unprecedented pressure with the cost of living crisis.’

It has been one year since Aldi leapfrogged Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-biggest supermarket. Aldi held 10.1pc of the market in the three months to September 3, according to the latest industry data from research firm Kantar.

Hurley said Aldi’s expansion programme was ‘unrivalled’ in the sector as it seeks to win a bigger share of the market.

The plan will create 6,000 new jobs this year, after an additional 6,000 permanent jobs were created last year. It employs more than 40,000 staff.

However, Hurley urged planning authorities to ‘speed up the process’ and said there was a ‘much faster’ turnaround on stores before Covid.

Hurley said: ‘We have to understand that throughout the pandemic, lots of businesses and the

Government were challenged by the circumstances they faced. As we come out of that period now, we would welcome returning to pre-pandemic process and speed.’

Neil Shah, director at investor relations business Edison Group, said: ‘Aldi’s record profits owe a lot to its supermarket sweep of UK households, with two-thirds now shopping at the German discount supermarket giant.

‘Aldi, surpassing Morrisons, now ranks as the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket and, along with Lidl, is manifesting rapid growth, altering shopping habits, and cementing its position in the market by drawing in value-seeking consumers.

‘This fortified market stance underscores Aldi’s commitment to offering value-driven, cost-effective alternatives, attracting nearly a million new customers in a year.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk