Aldi Süd has announced the opening of its first stores in Italy, with ten outlets set to open in the country on March 1st.
The first stores will be located at Bagnolo Mella, Cantù, Castellanza, Curno, Peschiera del Garda, Piacenza, Rovereto, San Donà die Piave, Spilimbergo and Trento.
The openings follow a two-year planning process which was undertaken by Hofer, Aldi Süd's Austrian arm.
In a statement, the group, which will be headquartered at Oppeano, near Verona, said that its Italian stores will feature a 'new store concept and assortment developed especially for Italy', with the aim to offer its customers 'selected products that combine quality and convenience'.
Following the opening of its first ten outlets, Aldi plans to have approximately 45 stores operational in Northern Italy by the end of 2018. Initially, the company has hired 880 employees, with this expected to grow to 1,500 by the end of the year.
Private Label Strength
The group has pledged to collaborate more strongly with Italian suppliers, saying that some 75% of the food products available in its stores will be sourced from Italian suppliers.
In addition, around 85% of the range in its Italian stores will comprise own-brand products.
The private label brand offer will feature a range of Italian SKUs includin Regione Che Vai (pasta and cooking oils), I Taglieri del Re (cold cuts), Natura Felice (organic products) and Bontlà (dairy products). In addition, every store will eatures a wine section with Italian wines, a Banco dei Sapori for fresh products and a bakery department with fresh bread.
"We are extremely proud to enter the Italian market, renowned all over the world for its unrivalled food and wine culture, commented Michael Veiser, group managing director at Aldi Süd.
"In the last two years we have prepared ourselves to better respond to the requests of Italian customers, through a completely new idea of spending that, in line with our company philosophy, it puts at the center selected products that combine quality and convenience."
Marketing Campaign
To support the launch, Aldi Süd has launched a new advertising campaign, 'Le Famiglie Aldi' (The Aldi Family), alongside the Leo Burnett agency, which features a number of families giving feedback on Aldi products.
The motto for the campaign is 'Chiedi a chi l'ha provato', or 'ask who has tried it', and the aim is to highlight the quality of the brand's food offering.
Discount Market
With its move into Italy, Aldi Süd is entering a local grocery discount market worth around €13 billion dominated by established players such as Lidl Italia, Eurospin Italia, MD Spa and Leader Price Italia.
A recent study by IRI revealed that discount retailers in Italy saw a 0.8% growth in value and 0.1% in volume during 2017.
The number of stores trading under the discount format was 4,793, representing a 12% increase on 2016, and a 70% rise on 2005. The combined market share of the main discount operators in Italy is 12%.
A separate study by Osservatorio del Sell Out found that discount stores in Italy registered a 1.9% growth in 2017, boosted by a strong performance in December (+4.7% compared to 2016).
Aldi Süd boasts more than 5,900 points of sale across 11 countries.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones and Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
