Aldi UK teases 500 new locations, named "cheapest supermarket"

Aldi opened its 1,000th store in the U.K. on 7 September and committed to a new long-term target of eventually operating 1,500 stores across the country.

The discount chain is now Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer, and 1 in every 10 pounds spent at British supermarkets goes through its tills, the company said. The grocer was also the fastest-growing retailer for the fourth month in a row in July, with sales increasing by 21.2 percent in the month compared to the same period a year prior, data consulting company Kantar reported.

“Our popularity is growing, and there is a huge demand for people to have an Aldi store near them to increase [their] access to our unbeatable prices,” Aldi U.K. and Ireland CEO Giles Hurley said. “The next phase of our expansion will involve another 500 new stores over the coming years. It is a long-term target and [does not represent] a ceiling to our ambition to have an Aldi store close to everyone in the U.K.”

Aldi plans to open 20 new stores before the end of this year as part of a GBP 1.3 billion (USD 1.6 billion, EUR 1.5 billion) two-year investment plan.

Demonstrating Britons’ demand for low-cost groceries amid inflation and other economic woes, the consumer group Which? named Aldi the “cheapest supermarket” for the 15th month in a row.

“As summer draws to a close and families begin preparing to go back to school or university, August and September can represent financially challenging months for many. However, with 15 consecutive months as the U.K.’s cheapest supermarket, families can rest assured that they can rely on us for great quality products at the lowest possible prices and that we’ll continue to support our customers in these testing times,” Aldi Managing Director of Buying Julie Ashfield said. 

In August, an average Aldi’s grocery basket was GBP 14.30 (USD 17.85, EUR 16.66) cheaper than Waitrose – the most expensive supermarket in the U.K. – for an equivalent basket of items. 

Lidl grabbed the second rank in the “cheapest supermarket” comparison, followed by Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Ocado, and Waitrose.