UK Supermarket Chain Sainsbury’s (owned by J. Sainsbury plc) is taking on Aldi UK as it opens a new front in the supermarket price war. The supermarket has today launched Aldi Price Match, having reduced the price of around 250 staple grocery products. The price-matching campaign has the same name and similar branding as one launched by Tesco last March. The scheme includes products across the meat & fish, dairy, frozen, fruit & veg, bakery, drinks, food cupboard and toiletries categories. It said prices were matched against equivalent products at the discounter. They do not take into account Aldi’s promotions and in some cases prices have been pro-rated to reflect different pack sizes and product weights. Reductions include cutting the price of By Sainsbury’s plain flour 1.5kg from 80p (US$1.11) to 45p (US$0.62) and By Sainsbury’s 2 Smoked Basa Fillets 240g from £2.50 (US$3.5) to £2.39 (US$3.30). Sainsbury’s said the launch was the first major strategy move under CEO Simon Roberts’ ‘food first’ plan to put food back at the heart of the business. “We are making great progress delivering our food first plan and I’m determined that in these tough times, we do even more to help our customers save money,” he said. “Our new commitment to match Aldi prices on hundreds of our most popular products will mean our customers can be confident that they are getting the quality they expect from Sainsbury’s at great prices.” Sainsbury’s said the move would further strengthen its value credentials and sit alongside its current Price Lock scheme, which involves the reduction of prices of around 2,500 branded and own-label private label items for an eight-week period. See more on private label developments here at https://privatelabel.me/ Discounter Aldi UK pointed to a theGrocer.co.uk 33 comparison in December that found it to be 20% cheaper than Sainsbury’s. A basket of 33 products came to £48.23 (US$66.76)at Aldi compared with £60.54 (US$83.80) for an equivalent shop at Sainsbury’s. It said the price difference was so great that Sainsbury’s campaign lacked credibility. The discounter was this morning examining the comparisons, and said it would discount as necessary to maintain its price margin over any competitor on comparable products. See here for more: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/prices-and-promotions/sainsburys-apes-tesco-with-launch-of-aldi-price-match-campaign/653014.article#.YCP9Hh3FwTw.linkedin

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Süd (privately owned) is rolling out a £1.3 billion (US$1.8Bn) digitalisation initiative across its vast international store estate as it continues to push into the online grocery space. Aldi Süd, which has around 10,000 stores in 20 countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovania, Hungary, Italy, Australia, China, UK, Ireland and the US, is rolling out a globally standardised IT system across its store network. According to German grocery retail magazine 'Lebensmittel Zeitung', Aldi’s major investment is set to lay the groundwork for an effective e-commerce operation. Part of its new “global transformation” project would be the creation of a uniform infrastructure for customer communication, covering internet channels and physical stores alike. This reportedly includes a globally standardised template for e-commerce, which Aldi only offers in a strictly limited capacity in the UK, despite huge demand for the service. While Aldi UK and Aldi US have long been calling for the wider brand to introduce an online grocery option to meet this demand, managers at Aldi’s headquarters have fought back stating that online delivery could only be realised at a loss. However, with the two national Aldi stores introducing click & collect options and delivery via third party companies like Deliveroo and Instacart, the discounter could now be reconsidering its position. Aldi Süd told Lebensmittel Zeitung that the aim in e-commerce us “suitable and market-driven solutions for all countries of the Aldi Süd Group in order to be able to flexibly serve the omni-channel requirements from our markets”. The grocer is also understood to be considering the rollout of a loyalty app to rival the recently launched “Lidl Plus” app. Aldi Süd's sister Aldi Nord will follow Aldi Süd in the second part of 2021 with the roll-out and implementation in Europe. See here for more: https://www.chargedretail.co.uk/2021/02/12/aldi-could-be-considering-online-grocery-launch-amid-1-3-bn-digitalisation-project/

Discount Retail Chain Family Dollar (owned by Dollar Tree) is expanding a 275-store pilot of same-day delivery that it launched with online delivery platform Instacart in late 2020 to more than 6,000 store across the U.S. With this new collaboration, Family Dollar customers now have access to same-day delivery of the retailer’s selection of household goods, pantry and baby essentials, electronics, office and school supplies, personal care items and more in as fast as an hour. Many other chains not operating in Instacart’s core grocery. Notable examples include Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Sephora, Staples, and Big Lots. Family Dollar customers can visit a dedicated Family Dollar page on the Instacart site or download the Instacart app on their mobile device. For all orders, an Instacart shopper will pick and deliver the order within the customer’s chosen delivery time frame – in as fast as an hour, or days in advance. “Providing same-day delivery is another example of our efforts to better meet the evolving needs of our Family Dollar shoppers,” stated Mike Witynski, president and CEO of Family Dollar parent Dollar Tree Inc. “We are encouraged by the initial results of our pilot stores, and are pleased to expand the Instacart platform to more than 6,000 Family Dollar stores across the country.” “Customers rely on Instacart to get all the groceries and goods they need delivered to their door safely and conveniently. Whether stocking up the fridge or pantry, enhancing a home office or virtual school space, or buying everyday at-home essentials, we know value and affordability are top of mind for people across the country,” said Chris Rogers, VP of retail at Instacart. “Family Dollar offers a variety of low-cost items for the entire family, and we’re proud to partner with them to offer same-day delivery nationwide.” A wholly-owned subsidiary of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar operates more than 7,800 stores in primarily rural and urban settings across 46 states. Instacart partners with nearly 600 national, regional and local retailers to deliver from more than 45,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. See here for more: https://chainstoreage.com/family-dollar-goes-national-same-day-delivery

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Spain (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) reinforces its commitment to the national product this Christmas, since more than 70% of the assortment of its own group-wide private label DELUXE assortment range comes from local Spanish suppliers, which allows bringing 'premium' gastronomy to Spanish tables at affordable prices, in addition to boosting exports of these products to the countries where the supermarket chain is present. Lidl Spain PR director, Arantxa Conde, pointed out during the presentation that this year the Lidl private label Deluxe range, which has more than 350 SKUs, is a new 'commitment' for national suppliers at Christmas at affordable prices, since its ranges from 0.99 to 18.99 euros (US$1.21 - 23.12) (see here for more on Private Label Brand development). In addition, Lidl is committed to Spanish products to export them to other countries where the discount chain is present in Europe and US. 'We want to offer the best products and give them the prominence they deserve not only in Spain, but we are committed to take these products to other countries,' he said. In this way, in the last 10 years, Lidl has exported products from the Spanish Deluxe Christmas range to 30 countries in Europe and in more than 1,000 stores worth 50 million Euros (US$61mio). Thus, a total of 25 million nougat tables have been brought to the rest of the continent, amount other Spanish products in the last decade. Lidl stands out for being the retail chain with the highest volume of purchases from small suppliers and for having a large number of regional references. In total, Lidl's Spanish purchase volume amounts to more than €4.6Bn euros (US$5.6Bn). In Spain, the national products presented on the shelves of its stores already account for more than 70% of the total offer, since it works with more than 750 Spanish suppliers for their international supply platform. Thus, 55% of the purchase volume from national suppliers is exported to other European markets in which the company operates. Internationalization of Spanish products As representative of the MCA Spain, Pedro Ochoa, who has more than 40 references in Lidl's Deluxe range such as asparagus with DO Navarra or artichokes, has recognized that it is a 'pride' to be able to be present on some many European tables this Christmas especially now. Lidl advocates the quality of Spanish products, with the Denomination of Origin (DO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) seals. Ochoa pointed out that the main value of DO products 'help to boost the development of rural areas.' 'These were crops that we disappearing, but thanks to the fact that Lidl has begun to commercialize them, it has allowed the revitalization of villages that were going to disappear,' he explained. For this part, the manager of Can Bech, Gerard Bech, has been please to work for Lidl. 'Our pillars as a small family company are artisanal production and offering the best products, with the best raw materials. For us it is very important that a company like Lidl values the way we work and count, year after year, with our products', he indicates. 'Working with the DELUXE brand has allowed us to sell more than 4.6 million units of our products and mechanize processes that without these volumes would have been complicated', stresses Bech, who manufacturers the Olivada, Escalivada or the assortment of mini jams for foie gras, cheeses and fish. See here for more: https://www.europapress.es/economia/noticia-lidl-refuerza-apuesta-producto-nacional-mas-70-gama-deluxe-proveedores-espanoles-20201125122020.html

Private label brands are gaining more and more momentum and interest around the world, are growing rapidly and consumers tend to trust them more and more, international research shows. Experts say this is due not only to a huge change in the strategy of the retail sector, but also to changing people’s attitudes towards shopping. Over the past five years, from 2015 to 2019, U.S.-generated sales of private labels grew by as much as US$ 14 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 2.5%, twice the number of branded brands, according to research firm Nielsen's latest. data. The fact that people are starting to appreciate the quality of private labels also reveals that in 2018. Europeans said their attitudes towards private labels had improved over time, with another 76%. Europeans believe that private label products offer excellent value for money. By purchasing only the product, other costs are avoided According to Linas Baltušis, Head of Lidl's Sales Promotion Department, although so far many customers have thought that ensuring a very good price-quality ratio for private label branded products is impossible, but more and more customers experience that it is possible. "Often, under the private label, well-known products are hidden, many of them are manufactured even by the same suppliers that offer well-known brands. When negotiating these products, we do not pay for the manufacturer's marketing costs, sales promotions or other non-production costs, we only buy the product itself and its recipe. As a result, we can offer high quality private labels at the best prices,” says L. Baltušis. According to him, Lidl's advertising campaign "Have a choice", which will start in January, will seek to draw the population's attention to the relationship between product quality and price: Every week, customers of the retail network will be offered not only well-known brands at attractive prices, but also alternatives to private Lidl brands. We are convinced that regardless of the choice of the buyers, they will be able to enjoy extremely high quality products at an affordable price for everyone.” (see here for more on Private Label Brand development) Retail chains have also changed their approach According to the head of the sales promotion department, the fact that in recent years the population is paying more and more attention to private brands is related to changes in the retail chain sector. “In the past, people from private brands only expected good prices, but that had nothing to do with quality. For some time now, in Western Europe, and more recently in Lithuania, attitudes towards private labels have changed dramatically. Consumers tend to pay less for well-known brands if the same quality can be bought at a much lower price when buying private label products. It can be said that we are becoming more conscious buyers, for whom quality becomes a more important factor than a well-known name,” says L. Baltušis. The quality requirements will be attested to by each manufacturer According to L. Baltušis, the main task of Lidl is to ensure the highest quality at the best possible price, and in order to guarantee the extremely high quality of products, no compromises can be made. According to him, any Lithuanian or foreign supplier could testify that cooperation with Lidl is a major challenge due to the requirements for the quality of private label brand products. "The high quality of the products of the retail chain is one of our core values, therefore we constantly invest a lot of our time and energy in properly selecting not only the goods, but also the manufacturers who supply them. After all, the fact that these companies will produce under our brand means a lot, because we take full responsibility for these products,” says the head of Lidl's Sales Promotion Department. See here for more: https://imone.lidl.lt/media-centras/pranesimai-ziniasklaidai/2021/auksta-kokybe-ir-zema-kaina-misija-imanoma-kodel-gyventojai-vis-dazniau-renkasi-privacius-prekes-zenklus

Dada is one of the key own brands of the discount retail chain Biedronka (owned by Jeronimo Martins). The discounter wants to expand the own private label brand with toys and accessories for children. The chain has already submitted applications to the Patent Office for registration of the following marks: Dada Fun & Play, Dada Comfort and Dada Accesories. According to the classification, the discounter wants to sell, among others feeding pillows, blankets, toys, towels or baby clothes. Dada is one of the flagship products of its stores. Recently, the discounter has been carrying out the "Dada welcome pack" campaign. Biedronka's goal is to be even closer to Polish families, whom the discounter accompanies in everyday shopping and to celebrate the joy of the birth of their children with them. Together with the Dada brand, Biedronka presents a welcome package to every toddler in Poland who will be born in 2020. In mid-2020, the company also began publishing a magazine for future parents, parents of newborns and infants. The "DADA" magazine contains advice, recipes and discount coupons for products sold in the Biedronka chain stores. The company also runs a website with advice for parents. Biedronka offers about 1,000 own private label products. Private label products account for nearly half of all its sales. According to PMR data, in 2019 the value of the children's products market amounted to PLN 15.2 billion (US$4.3 billion) in Poland. The Biedronka network has over 3,000 in Poland. stores. See here for more: https://www.dlahandlu.pl/wiadomosci/,94511.html See also more on DRC Private Label services: Private Label Brand development

Internet grocery store Ocado (LSE: OCDO) is to rebrand its own private label brand packaging range in the coming months. To the Grocer the online grocer Ocado confirmed the brand overhaul was happening, revealing it would apply to “each and every one of our own-label products”. It also revealed its plans to change driver uniforms in autumn from the current light grey and green jackets to hooded black tops with a purple trim. The packaging redesign plan comes after Ocado changed its website and logo from green to purple last month. One of the reasons for the overhaul was to better distinguish Ocado’s branding from that of rival supermarkets, giving it “a distinctive, ownable identity”. “Green is widely used in grocery branding in the UK, and frankly, we hate to be mistaken for anyone else,” the company said at the time. The Ocado own private label branded range pack design was introduced in 2010, and revised a year later by agency JKR. Another extensive packaging redesign took place in 2016, by agency Pure, which can be seen across products currently displayed on the site (see here for more on Private Label Brand development). The new uniform will feature a black and purple colour scheme The planned new packaging look is part of JKR’s complete brand overhaul – which covers Ocado’s logo, font, colour, website, vans and uniform. As is common in e-commerce, two versions of the packaging for each product are being created, one solely for online display, and another for the physical pack. “We are busy working on a new look and feel to the Ocado own private label brand and can’t wait to share the final result with our customers this spring,” said Ocado head of own brand Rachel Cox-Reynolds. The entire own-label range would carry the “new look” she added, “but will continue to deliver the same reliable Ocado quality at the same great price”. The first rebranded product was quietly listed on the Ocado site this week: British pork crackling loin joint. Lois Blackhurst, executive creative director at STB Graphic Designers described the redesign as “weak and apologetic”. “It’s missed a trick,” she said. “This was a chance to play to its strengths: as an online-only supermarket, it bypasses the need to stand out on crowded shelves and can focus its efforts on online impact. So I’m surprised Ocado has not been bolder. The logos and product information feel weak and apologetic, forming part of a very structured design that feels far too basic. An online-only store should surely be blazing the trail. “While the abstract, graphic pattern approach may become an ownable part of the Ocado style it simply isn’t enough to salvage the redesign in my opinion. Whilst undoubtably eye-catching, depicting ingredients in such an abstract way doesn’t deliver the additional food cues or information that many consumers look for at the point of purchase,” Blackhurst added. See here for more: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/own-label/ocado-to-rebrand-own-label-packaging-and-driver-uniforms/652794.article?utm_source=Daily%20News%20(The%20Grocer)&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-02-04&c=

Norways leading discount retail chain Europris has definitely been a corona winner and it showed the low-price chain up and running, also in the fourth quarter. Turnover increased from NOK 1,899 (US$220million) to NOK 2,523 million (US$292million), corresponding to a growth of 32.8%. Profitability also jumped sharply, and the adjusted operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at NOK 677 million (US$78million), which is 50% higher than in the corresponding period last year. The gross margin is an important key figure for Europris and it increased from 45.1 to 45.7%. Profit after tax ended at NOK 366 million (US$42million), compared with NOK 212 million (US$25million) last year. Good January sales In the quarterly report, the low-price chain writes that it has succeeded well with the range, campaign management, and consequently has benefited from the corona pandemic. Operating results continued to be strong in the fourth quarter, which resulted in record sales and record results for Europris. The year 2020 has been different and challenging, but Europris has continued to strengthen its position and ends the year as market leader, says CEO Espen Eldal. Europris writes in the quarterly report that strong sales have continued into January this year. Up to 31 department stores have been temporarily closed in the period from 23 January to 2 February, but now only seven stores are closed. The low-price chain finds it difficult to estimate the long-term effects of the corona pandemic. The quarterly report states that the freight market suffers from a shortage of containers. "As a result, spot prices have risen significantly and shipments of goods have been delayed to some extent. Europris has a fixed agreement with a carrier on both a fixed price and volume for 2021", writes Europris, and states that the situation may affect them in the longer term. In 2018, Europris bought 20% of the shares in the Swedish low-price variety discount chain ÖoB, and has an option to buy the remaining 80% at 7.7 times the average operating profit before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in 2019 and 2020. A review of EBITDA for 2019 was conducted in the fourth quarter and the parties are not ready to agree on the target figure, so now an external third party is involved in the process. Europris writes that the parties are quite far from agreeing, which may contribute to making it difficult to exercise the option. ÖoB has suffered during the corona pandemic and the top line grew by only 4.1% to NOK 4,186 million (US$484million), while the EBITDA result fell from NOK 75 (US$8.7million) to 68 million (US$7.9million). Increased dividends The financial position is strong and at the end of the quarter the cash position was over NOK 1.9 billion (US$220million). The board proposes to pay a dividend of NOK 2.70 (US$0.3) per share. share, of which NOK 2.20 (US$0.25) is an ordinary dividend and NOK 0.50 (US$0.06) is an extra dividend due to the good results for 2020. As a result of strong results last year, the Europris share has gone like a ball on the Oslo Stock Exchange in the past year with an increase of over 56%. However, it is not only the shareholders who are well rewarded. Europris has set aside an extra NOK 12 million (US$1.4million) in bonuses for employees. See here for more: https://finansavisen.no/nyheter/handel/2021/02/04/7617461/europris-vokste-med-over-30-prosent-i-fjerde-kvartal

Siberian Discount Retail Chain MERE (owned by the Russian Svetofor group means translated traffic light) and started in 2009. After a first expansionary phase within proximity countries, in 2017 it began its landing in markets of Eastern and Central Europe (Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania, Poland and Germany) and since 2020 it has offices and headquarters in countries as western like the UK, Italy, France or Spain. In principle, the effective entry with operational stores in the Spanish market was planned for the year 2022 but, as reported this week exclusively by the specialized media InfoRETAIL, “the project has been decided to accelerate as a result of the Covid-19 crisis". And it is that the crisis situation driving the Russian discounter, whose market approach is 'hard-discount' in which it differentiates from the now avant-garde leading food discounters DIA, LIDL and ALDI. With the philosophy 'no frills', MERE is committed to sober stores in which all products are stacked on pallets or in their own boxes and there are no employees except to replace empty spaces and to charge. What is sold and where will MERE go? The assortment is mainly made up of regular basket consumer goods (dry food, personal care, home care and pet food), as well as in&out SKUs (so called bazaar goods). Prices are up to 20% lower compared to the cheapest retailer. The locations chosen are medium-sized buildings (between 800 and 1,000 m2) located in peripheral areas of large cities, equipped with their own or shared parking outside. The first expansion will take place in municipalities of Madrid, Valencian Community, Murcia, Castilla y León, as well as in Catalonia, where it has located its headquarters. Who are MERE's competitors? The Spanish supermarket and self-service sector is one of the most varied in terms of diversity of formats. Multinational food retail companies (such as Carrefour, Alcampo, Lidl, Aldi, DIA ...), Spanish market leader Mercadona and a large number regional or even local chains competing side by side in many markets. In this context, discount chains strictly based on the hard discount concept as MERE, have been gradually abandoned by the major players in the sector, but there are companies that in recent years are succeeding with approaches based on stock opportunities (bargain chains) or in the reduction of store costs (family cash). The bargain chains formats are retailers that carry out negotiations with FMCG and non-food producers and distributors based on irregular product offers, overstock, parallel imports, liquidation of stocks or phase-outs of products to obtain significant discounts that they offer to their consumers: this are companies such as Primaprix, Dealz or Sqrups, that already have more than 200 stores in Spain. The family cash formats are supermarkets based on cash & carry formats (also known for hoteliers and professionals), but are open to everyone. The products are displayed on pallets and large metal shelves and on many occasions the stores are located in large semi-industrial warehouses located in peripheral areas and industrial estates. At the end of 2020, there were already 450 of these stores (according to data from the RETAIL DATA consultancy) located mainly in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha. These are mainly regional chains such as "Cash Fresh", "Economy Cash", "Cash Ecofamilia", "Super Carmela Cash", although the Carrefour group also competes in this segment with "Supeco". In a global way, the set of discount formulas where the price has a greater relevance (including the EDLP prices of Mercadona, DIA, Lidl or Aldi) sum up to about 3,900 stores out of the more than 24,800 stores with which the sector ended in Spain in 2020. The low-cost discount retail phenomenon is exploding In addition to the examples in the growing discount food retail sector, there are several retail chains that in recent years have been started in Spain based on an offer of household items, personal care and textiles at very cheap prices, with adjusted qualities, but with an approach aligned with the fashion and collections that are happening. Following the Primark phenomenon, but located in much smaller locations (between 250-400 m2), the Dutch chain Zeeman entered Spain in 2015 , which is now close to 100 stores (especially located in Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the area east of Spain). Also in 2015, the German TEDi variety discounter made its entrance, with a complete offer of home bazaar items and already over 200 store locations (between 300-800 m2), Chinese lifestyle retail chain Miniso (6 stores) and Danish variety retail chain Flying Tiger Copenhagen (128 stores) spread throughout Spain. The crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving will only reinforce this type of (inter)national discount food and variety brands and commercial formats ... and there are more knocking on the door, such as Action, PEPCO etc. See here for more: https://www.niusdiario.es/economia/consumo/mere-cadena-rusa-supermercado-descuento-desembarco-espana-adelanta-por-crisis-covid_18_3083070378.html?amp=true

Discount Retail Chain Aldi (privately owned and part of the Aldi Nord Group) arrived on the Spanish market in April 2002. It did so timidly and with a model based on the discounting; something that the national market already knew years ago from Lidl, the eternal rival of Aldi (not only in Spain, but also in Germany) and DIA. After almost retreating from the Spanish market, Aldi Nord initially started its new discount market approach and instore concept developments (ANIKo) in Spain. Now finally, the discounter hits the table and accelerates its expansion after closing the year with 328 stores. At the center of its strategy: private label brand, low prices and Madrid as a strategic location. Aldi Spain accelerated its store opening rate during the pandemic. If the discount chain opened in 2019 a total of 17 stores, which allowed it to increase its retail space by 6.3% compared to 2018, this year the number of new releases has been even higher. "We will close the year with 23 new stores in Spain, which will mean ending the year with 328 stores, more than 5,200 employees (which represents an increase in the workforce of more than 20% compared to the previous year), and more than 350,000 square meters of commercial area in the country", Eduardo López tells Invertia, Head of Aldi Expansion. As of today, "Aldi has a market share in Spain of 1.4% and more than 5.2 million families trust Aldi for their regular purchases," as recalled from the company through data by Kantar Worldpanel. A ranking in which there are six companies ahead, with Alcampo with 3.4% or regional supermarkets such as Consum being the closest rivals to beat. Higher up, its eternal rival, Lidl (5.7%) and the leader, Mercadona (24.8%). Private Label Brand The objective of the chain "is to continue growing" through openings and at a rate of 20 stores per year, but also attracting the public. With a business strategy based on discount, price and private label brand (see here for more on Private Label Brand development). Eduardo López, head of Aldi Expansion, "Our reason for being in Spain and our commitment to shoppers is offering discount. At Aldi we dedicate all our efforts to developing our own private label brands, which represents 86% of our assortment, and this allows us to maintain high quality at very low prices. During the first half of 2020, Aldi's own private label brand products represented 67% of the company's total sales”, explains the manager. The German discount chain in Spain has an assortment of nearly 2,000 products and maintains agreements with more than 400 national suppliers. The national products represents 80% of the entire assortment. "More and more customers are opting for staple foods and private labels that allow them to make a complete purchase without having to allocate a large budget," he says. Madrid Within Aldi's expansion plan, the city of Madrid is, with 17 store, the city where the largest number of stores are concentrated. "At Aldi we are currently developing a strong expansion plan in Spain and the Community of Madrid and the capital are, of course, strategic areas for us." The German discounter will conclude its opening plan for this year with the opening of five new establishments in Spain during the month of December. These are two establishments located in Catalonia, another two in Andalusia and one in the Community of Madrid. In total, it will increase its workforce by more than 80 employees. See here fore more: https://www.revistainforetail.com/noticiadet/aldi-acelera-en-espana-en-el-ano-de-la-pandemia/67279827248cc76c6e2256850d8b60ed

Discount Retail Chain DIA launches a new brand of prepared food to respond to the needs of its shoppers, who increasingly demand this type of alternative. Under the name of 'Al punto', the discounter has introduced 30 new high-quality recipes ready for consumption in its assortment, with the aim of offering a varied menu. With this new family of prepared food, DIA offers its shoppers more innovative recipes such as almond gazpacho or teppanyaki gyozas and other more traditional ones of the Mediterranean diet such as salmorejo, potato omelette or ham croquettes . A large part of the 'Al punto' category family is made up of pre-cooked dishes, such as barbecue ribs or chicken thigh with potatoes, which are sold in containers suitable for heating for a few minutes in the microwave or in the oven. “At DIA we have the firm intention of being closer to our clients every day, adapting to their current needs and making their life easier. To fulfill our purpose, the company is in continuous evolution and transformation, which implies, among other lines of performance, improving the assortment by creating new products and solutions. 'Al Punto' is DIA's commitment to quality prepared food and constitutes a practical and comfortable food alternative that will allow our consumers to access varied menus and save time," said Marek Adam Bona, commercial director of DIA Spain. For the creation and launch of this new range of prepared food 'Al punto', DIA has collaborated with 13 new Spanish suppliers, with whom it works closely in the renewal of its assortment, adapting it to customer demand. In addition, with the aim of making 'Al Punto' known to shoppers, the discounter will launch weekly offers on the main items in the range. DIA shoppers can now purchase the products of this new Private Label brand in the entire DIA Spain store chain, or through its website dia.es and the Glovo app, at home. Need support in your Private Label brand strategy, business development or SKU portfolio restructuring please see our Private Label DRC services on: Private Label Brand development

Discount Retail Chain Aldi (privately owned) maintains its strong expansion plan in Spain and plans to open about 40 new stores and increase investment in the country during 2021. If this plan is fulfilled, it would mean an annual record of openings for the chain, only comparable to the record reached in 2015 when it opened a total of 35 stores and generated 39,625 m2. On average, in recent years, its annual opening plan has been between 20 and 30 stores. During the past year, Aldi opened a total of 23 new stores, five of which occurred during the month of December. As of today, the company has a commercial area of ​​more than 350,000 m2, after growing by 7.4% in terms of commercial area. “We are committed to the Spanish market and we are developing a strong expansion plan for the next few years. During the past year we opened 23 new stores and our goal is to continue growing intensely this year with about 40 new discount stores”, explained Valentín Lumbreras, CEO of Aldi. “We want to continue to be close to our customers and offer them a simple, complete and safe purchase, maintaining our quality standards and always at the best price. Throughout 2020 we have guaranteed low prices for our customers and we want this to continue in 2021”, he adds. In order to meet this premise of proximity, around 60% of the new Aldi supermarkets in 2020 were located in urban centers and city centers such as Madrid, Barcelona or Seville. By strategic regions, most of the new stores opened in Andalusia, specifically seven of them, which represents 30% of openings. Catalonia and the Community of Madrid opened six new stores each, which in both cases represents 26% of openings. Andalusia is also currently the autonomous community that concentrates the largest number of stores of the discount brand, with a total of 80. By locality, Madrid, with 17 stores, is the city with the most stores in the country. The key to Aldi's business lies in a discount model, with an assortment of nearly 2,000 products; 86% of private label brand SKUs (see here for more on Private Label Brand development). The company also bets on local suppliers. Currently, it works with more than 400 national suppliers that represent 80% of the chain's assortment in Spain. To support all this growth, the group has once again carried out a capital increase in Aldi Supermercados, SL bringing the total value to € 621,562,000 (US$ 0.75Billion), after injecting € 80 Million (US$ 100Million) in 2019. At this time of strong expansion of the company in our country, the group has also decided to create a new company for the management of real estate assets. The subsidiary, called Aldi Real Estate, was established last December and is based in Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona). Its corporate purpose, as recorded in the Mercantile Registry, is the sale and acquisition, by any title, of all types of properties, as well as their promotion and construction, in addition to their possible transfer to third parties. See here for more: https://www.alimarket.es/alimentacion/noticia/326062/aldi-marcara-un-record-de-aperturas-en-2021