Aldi has cemented its plans to expand its Irish sourcing operations with a newly created sourcing role.
Former regional MD Colin Breslin has been appointed to the new role of MD of buying and services Ireland. He will report to Aldi Ireland group MD Niall O’Connor.
The company dubbed the creation of the new role a “further investment in its Irish sourcing operations” having pledged to surpass last year’s target to buy over €1.1bn worth of Irish products this year.
Aldi expanded its Irish supplier network last year with the addition of 15 new Irish suppliers, including Sibly Foods and Builín Blasta, and a €100m deal with Kilkenny-based potato producer Iverk Produce.
O’Connor said that Aldi continued to perform well in Ireland and “the appetite to steer global group investment to Ireland is strong, with significant investment planned” in 2023.
Several retailers, including rival discounter Lidl, Sainsbury’s, and M&S have increasingly turned to local suppliers in the Republic of Ireland since Brexit in order to avoid any red tape that has come with moving goods between GB and the EU single market.
Reaching out for more local suppliers as Brexit-related rule changes fully rolled out in the past couple of years has also allowed the supermarket to maintain strong availability levels without depending on bringing goods from any EU or GB-based warehouses.
New sourcing head Breslin will oversee any existing and new supplier relationships and the entire buying department, as well as marketing and communications, national real estate and HR.
He has worked for the discounter for 20 years, starting as an area manager in 2023. He has been in a regional MD role since 2015.
“In Colin, we have a wealth of retail experience and leadership, and he will continue to support and drive our business forward, and particularly, our value promise to our customers at this time,” O’Connor said.
“People are a strategic focus and priority for our business and Colin has played a key role at Aldi for almost 20 years, and I wish him well in his new role as he continues to guide teams in supporting our customers to weather this inflationary storm.”
Aldi Ireland also recently announced details to hire 360 people in the first quarter of 2023 in a major new recruitment campaign to support the scaling up of operations.
The German discounter’s Irish branch operates 155 stores across the country, employing over 4,650 people.
It also has two distribution centres and a corporate office based in Naas, Co Kildare.
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