Aldi continues price reduction campaign: Expansion plans create optimism

The German discount retailer Aldi plans to further reduce prices during the pre-Christmas period as inflationary pressure eases. According to CEO Giles Hurley, Aldi’s UK business has experienced a negative price trend in recent months, in contrast to the price surge of the past two years. Concurrently, Aldi saw increasing sales and profits last year and announced an £800 million investment in UK expansion. With over 1,020 stores, the retailer plans to further grow its customer base and expand to 1,500 stores in the long term. Hurley indicated that customer satisfaction has increased with the reduction in price hikes. "Our price increases have fallen faster than those of other supermarkets and we are the only store whose prices are lower compared to last year," Hurley said. The company's focus is on supporting customers during difficult times, reflected in a further £100 million price reduction. Hurley remains optimistic that customers will continue to benefit from these price cuts until Christmas. Simultaneously, markets are observing a trend towards premium products, indicating some consumer relief in certain areas. As part of its record investments, Aldi plans to open 23 new stores and modernize another 100 by the end of the year. As the fourth-largest supermarket in the UK, employing over 45,000 people, Aldi is also investing £1.4 billion over the next two years to increase the number of locations in the UK to 1,500 in the long term. New store locations include Muswell Hill in London and Caterham in Surrey. These investment details were released alongside the announcement of the highest ever recorded annual sales growth of 16% for 2023, representing a rise to £17.9 billion. Pre-tax profit multiplied to £536.7 million, also attributed to cost savings across the company. Additionally, the company announced the introduction of hundreds of premium products, allowing customers to switch to higher-quality products for Christmas. Hurley added that for every pound of profit earned last year, two pounds will be invested this year to open more stores and expand the supply infrastructure. "In preparation for the Christmas season, we are launching our biggest and best seasonal product range yet, including hundreds of premium products at unbeatable prices," Hurley concluded.