After a brief hiatus, discounters Aldi and Lidl are continuing to expand their presence in Italy with the opening of several new stores.
At the start of the year, Aldi opened four new stores, in Bolzano, Mestre, Rovereto and Lecco, to which have been added new stores in Mestre and Novara.
With a sales area of 1,000 square metres, Aldi’s second store in Mestre is certified with energy class A2 and is equipped with charging facilities for electric vehicles.
Logsitics Boost
Earlier this month, the retailer also doubled its logistics capacity, with the opening of the Landriano storage centre near Pavia (52,500 square metres), a key hub for North-West Italy.
The logistics centre will serve the 28 stores located in the Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna regions. The new logistics hub joins Aldi's existing facility in Oppeano, near Verona.
Future expansion plans include the opening of outlets in city centres, such as Milan, where the retailer plans to roll out its 'Urban' store format, which boasts a smaller sales area (1,000 to 1,300 square metres) to the standard store format, as well as a tailored assortment for city-based shoppers.
Aldi entered the Italian market two years ago, and the retailer now boasts a sales network of 82 stores in six regions of Northern Italy: Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto.
Lidl Expansion
In May, Lidl opened two new stores, in Manerba and Ancona, taking its network to over 650 outlets.
Both new stores are energy class A+, which 100% of the energy coming from renewable sources, while the LED lighting system in both enables savings of up to 50% on traditional lighting systems.
The new openings follow a break of three months, in which the retailer put new openings on hold due to the coronavirus crisis.
Since the start of 2020, Lidl also opened new points of sale in Castelfranco Veneto and Formia, while existing outlets in Frosinone and Buccinasco were refurbished.
At the same time, the retailer has launched 'Lidl per l'Italia'; a programme to support the economy by enhancing the Italian food supply chain.
This programme will focus on exporting local products to other markets in which the banner is present, job creation, and real estate investments in the sales network.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
