Aldi France has announced the integration of the 500th former Leader Price store into its portfolio, one year on from its acquisition of the former Casino Group-owned chain.
The discounter's distribution network has been expanded to more than 1,300 stores with the integration of the outlets, while some 5,000 employees have been integrated into its workforce.
The milestone forms an 'important step' in the retailer's expansion strategy, Aldi Nord said.
'Within 15 Minutes'
“Our ambition is for all customers anywhere in the country to be able to reach an Aldi store within 15 minutes,” said Philip Demeulemeester, who is responsible for the discount retailer’s French business. “By merging the employees and stores of Leader Price and Aldi, we have achieved an important milestone on the way to attaining this goal.”
Since the project commenced in January, each store took approximately four weeks to convert, while central warehouses were reopened within four months.
Training Programme
The integration was also accompanied by a training programme for new employees – Aldi France's total employee count now stands at 15,000.
“In the coming year, we plan to open more than 100 new sales outlets to strengthen our presence as a retailer of basic goods and thus further improve accessibility for customers throughout France,” Demeulemeester added, noting that the move sends a "positive signal" in terms of the long-term growth strategy of Aldi France.
Aldi currently holds a 2.7% market share in France, according to the latest data from Kantar.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
