The British and Irish arm of discounter Aldi said on Monday it would step up the pressure on rivals by accelerating expansion in London, despite reporting a 26% fall in 2018 operating profit.
Britain's fifth biggest supermarket group, which currently operates over 840 stores, plans to open more than 100 new stores across the country over the next two years as part of its long-term target of 1,200 stores by the end of 2025.
It plans to increase store numbers in London from 45 to 100 by the end of 2025, by opening more standard-sized Aldi stores and new, smaller-format 'Local' stores on London high streets.
Major Investment
Aldi said it will invest £1 billion in stores and distribution centres across 2019 and 2020.
For the year to December 31 2018 Aldi UK and Ireland made an operating profit of £197.9 million (€222.7 million), down from £265.9 million in 2017. Sales increased 11% to £11.33 billion (€12.75 billion).
It attributed the profit fall to price cuts and investment in its infrastructure.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
