Aldi UK profits leap 65%
The German discounter said it would respond to price cuts from competitors with further discounts and claimed that attempts by rivals to match its budget approach had only served to boost sales.
Aldi reveals on Monday that UK sales increased 36% to £5.3bn last year and pre-tax profits climbed by nearly two-thirds to £261m. The announcement comes a week after the most prominent victim of Aldi’s success, Tesco, saw its woes deepen with the admission that it had overstated profit estimates by £250m.
Aldi opened 42 new stores last year and attracted 1 million more customers, capitalising on a significant change in shopping habits that is hitting the traditional supermarket giants hard.
Aldi is to open 54 new stores in the UK in 2014 and next year it plans up to 65, taking its total number of outlets to over 600. The UK chain, which is owned by the Albrecht family, based in Mülheim an der Ruhr in western Germany, is aiming to have 1,000 stores by 2021.
The Aldi executives said they were prepared to take a cut in profit margins in order to maintain their lead.
source: theguardian.com
