Discount Retail Chain Aldi has opened its 900th UK store as part of a major investment to add capacity to its distribution network and keep pace with rising consumer demand. The discounter has pledged to invest £1.3 billion (US$ 1.7Bn) in Britain over the next two years, including adding capacity to its store and distribution network.
On average, the retailer is currently opening one store a week, with plans to operate 1,200 UK stores by 2025. The company said it would create around 4,000 jobs in the UK next year to support its continued store growth. The milestone 900th store opened its doors in Sandhurst, Berkshire on 22 October and is the town’s first Aldi.
The Sandhurst store represents one of more than 75 sites that Aldi now has in the South East, as it continues to attract new customers across the region. Other places to receive their first Aldi store in 2020 – the supermarket’s 30th anniversary year in the UK – include Plympton, Holyhead and Market Drayton. This year, new stores have also been added in Hertford, St Ives and Cambridge among other locations.
Aldi opened its first UK store in Stechford, Birmingham back in 1990. John Richardson, Aldi UK’s regional managing director, said: “Opening our 900th store means that, after years of careful investment in our UK store network, we’re another step forward in making Aldi available to as many shoppers as possible, which is more important than ever before as many household budgets become squeezed. “Our 1,000th store is now firmly in sight and we’re on track to meet our target of operating 1,200 stores in the UK in five years time.”
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