Discount Retail Chain Aldi Nord (German family owned) the parent company of the brand in Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland, (excluding Trader Joe's) has turned-over € 27 billion euros in 2022, which represents an increase of 9.3% compared to the previous year (€ 24,7 billion).
In this way, the company almost quintuples its growth rate in the last 12 months, going from a year-on-year increase of 2% in 2021 to this rebound of 9.3% in 2022.
This is reflected in Aldi's 2022 Monitoring Sustainability Report, consulted by infoRETAIL, which highlights the importance of the Spanish market in Aldi Nord's business.
In terms of number of stores, Spain closed last year with 394 establishments of the German discounter, 37 more than in 2021 (+10.4%). The countries with the largest Aldi Nord store networks are Germany (2,201), France (1,321), the Netherlands (488) and Belgium-Luxembourg (465).
In addition, its workforce has also grown by double digits (+10.2%) in Spain, to 6,544 workers. As in the previous case, Spain repeats fifth position within the matrix, surpassed by Germany (40,047), France (15,756), the Netherlands (10,805) and Belgium-Luxembourg (8,479).
In total, as of December 31, 2022, Aldi Nord had 5,430 points of sale and 91,799 employees, representing increases of 1.9% and 5.6%, respectively.
In terms of assortment, Aldi has reduced the assortment in Spain by 5.6% in 2022, to 2,648 references. However, the country remains the one with the highest supply, with about 250 SKUs more than its immediate pursuer (France, with 2,407).
Likewise, the Spanish stores of the chain have reduced the proportion of their own brand in the total offer (3.6 percentage points), with a share of 79.8%, the third lowest of the company, after Poland (56.9%) and Denmark (65.4%).
Aldi Nord has increased its catalogue of references by 7%, from 1,875 to 2,006 products in one year. In this section, Spain achieves a qualitative leap, placing itself in first position with an offer of 2,806 references, almost 650 more than its immediate pursuer: Germany, with 2,165.
In fact, Aldi Spain has increased its assortment by 13.5% in the last year, while reducing the presence of the own brand by almost 2.5 percentage points, going from a share of the total references of 85.8% to 83.4%. In this sense, the Spanish market is in fourth position in the ranking of introduction of own brand in the assortment, behind the Netherlands (90.6%), Belgium-Luxembourg (89.2%) and France (87.7%).
Renewable energies
The report also reveals that Aldi has more than 37,400 photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs of its stores and distribution centers, which generate energy for its own consumption and for the grid. This figure comes after having installed, during 2022, more than 19,200 modules to its network.
"All our distribution centers where it is possible to install solar panels have this type of technology and, currently, there are already 188 establishments that have this system. In fact, in 2022, we produced more than 13 million kWh for internal use, 134% more than in 2021," explains Real Estate and Expansion Managing Director, David Carim.
Since 2018, 100% of the energy acquired by Aldi in Spain is of renewable origin and, since 2016, all the company's new establishments in Spain use LED lighting. In addition, whenever possible, it uses carbon dioxide as a natural refrigerant gas, a more sustainable alternative to other options available on the market.
In terms of circularity, the Aldi Nord group has achieved that 67% of its own brand packaging is already recyclable, which has saved more than 83,000 tons of packaging material thanks to the reduction or elimination of packaging. In addition, the amount of virgin plastic in MDD packaging has been reduced by 11% compared to 2020.
"We optimize store orders with a daily inventory of product adapted to the demand and consumption needs of customers, apply a 30% discount on certain items with an upcoming expiration date and ensure local donations of products that cannot be for sale but are still fit for consumption," recalls the CEO of Aldi Spain, Valentín Lumbreras.
"Specifically, thanks to all these actions, at Aldi we have managed to avoid the waste of more than 6,595 tons of food during 2022, 5,994 only with the measure of the 30% discount," he remarks.
Certificates With regard to animal welfare, more than 80% of fresh products of chicken, turkey, rabbit, Iberian and white layer pork, organic beef, milk and eggs have the seal of animal welfare in Spain. In addition, since 2018 all fresh eggs come from cage-free hens and has a commitment that 100% of its processed products containing eggs will also be so by 2025.
Over the last year, Aldi has also increased the number of products with the EU organic label and currently offers around 320 foods from organic farming.
It has also increased the assortment of products with the Fairtrade label, from 65 to 75 by 2022, and about 96% of the cotton used in private label products is already certified as sustainable. The company's goal by the end of 2025 is the use of 100% sustainable cotton in all private label clothing and home textile products made from or containing cotton.
