Aldi undaunted by price war as profits surge
GERMAN discounter Aldi said yesterday that the supermarket price war was helping to drive more customers into its shops as it reported a 65 per cent jump in full-year profits.
The retailer, together with its German peer Lidl, has been stealing market share from the big four supermarkets as it ramps up its presence in the UK, forcing them in turn to slash their prices.
Aldi’s UK co-managing director Matthew Barnes said: “We have actually seen stronger growth in the first half of 2014 than in the first six months of last year. The price cuts have encouraged consumers to think more about what supermarkets charge and have really shown that our everyday low prices can’t be beaten.”
Pre-tax profits jumped by 65.2 per cent to £260.9m in 2013 thanks to a 35.7 per cent rise in sale to £5.27bn. Aldi said it has overtaken Tesco in terms of the number of items customers put into their basket.
The group is investing £600m in to the UK over the next two years, with plans to expand to 600 stores across the UK by the end of 2015.