With Aldi’s second win on the bounce, this is becoming a habit. A bit like shopping at Aldi, in fact.
Stealing custom from its ‘big four’ rivals on an unprecedented scale, “Aldi has created chaos in the market,” said one judge, with “the broad appeal one of the most startling achievements.”
Eye-popping year-on-year sales increases approaching 30% have been a regular event at the discounter, but for the 12 weeks ending 25 May 2014 Kantar Worldpanel recorded a sales uplift of 35.9%.
And ominously for its rivals, Aldi plans to put its foot down even harder.
“We think 1,000 stores is an absolute possibility,” Aldi’s joint GMD Matthew Barnes told The Grocer after winning the Grocer Gold for Grocer of the Year.
“We are opening 55 this year. For the foreseeable future, 65 new stores a year is not out of the question.”
That would double Aldi’s existing store estate in a little over seven years, but fellow GMD Roman Heini insisted there was enough demand from shoppers.
“All the signs are there that we are going to have a nice happy end to the second quarter and the third quarter and the fourth,” said Heini.
“We are more than happy to fight on price. We won’t be beaten”
Roman Heini
“So we are hopeful for next year already, even if it’s a bit early at the moment. We can’t see it slowing down in the next few months. We will maintain our price gap so the consumer won’t have a reason to shop somewhere else. We have a big refresh coming up, more fresh lines, more fresh produce and fresh meat, more reasons to shop with us. Looking ahead to the next 18 months we are more than hopeful.”
Heini said Aldi would also continue to improve its existing stores to win more sales. “We want a better quality network with our existing stores, so we have been building extensions and bigger car parks,” he said.
“In some locations we have been victims of our own success and that can create bottlenecks in car parks, or the tills, or on the shop floor. We will try and address that at the same time so we have more momentum from our existing stores as well.”
Asked which of its two consecutives victories was sweeter, Barnes says the “first win was a really symbolic moment in our evolution, but to win it again means every bit as much as the first time. And we are determined to keep going. We want three in a row.”
Recent months have also seen the major multiples publicly acknowledge the impact the discounters are having on them for the first time, but Heini says that far from worrying them, it’s added motivation.
“The rhetoric has certainly changed recently,” said Heini. “It’s interesting that some of the competition is trying to fight us on our home turf. I wouldn’t say we welcome it, but we are more than happy to fight that battle on price. We won’t be beaten on price and that will continue. It’s a very simple policy that has served us well over the years.”
As for the unique joint leader structure, the pair insist they are closer than ever when it comes to running the show.
“We have been through an awful lot together,” said Barnes. “The last four and a half years have been a real rollercoaster - it’s a cliché but it really has been. But the appetite is there for more, so much more.
“We can see the potential in the market and we are determined to keep going.”
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