Post by Madhatter on Oct 8, 2015 11:06:04 GMT
The German-owned budget retailer, which has a store on the A5 in Hinckley, will begin selling wine and certain non-food ranges over the internet from next year.
Surging supermarket store Aldi is to launch an online arm after revealing record results.
The German-owned budget retailer, which has a store on the A5 in Hinckley, will begin selling wine and certain non-food ranges over the internet from next year.
However, the company doesn’t have plans to do the same with groceries.
Matthews Barnes, boss of Aldi UK and Ireland, said it had chosen wine to launch with because of its popularity. But he added: “Groceries are not on the radar.”
He claimed online groceries was complex and hard to make money on. The company also refused to give details about the how many products would be available at launch.
Barnes also said it had no plans to open convenience size stores, another big growth area for Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
His comments came as Aldi announced sales soared nearly a third to £6.8 billion last year. Takings have doubled in the past three years.
However, annual profits dropped to £260.3 million because of money pumped into price cuts and expansion. The drop in profits was the first for at least five years and shows how it has become a victim of the savage price cutting that it and Lidl triggered.
However, Barnes vowed to retain the gap with rivals even if it meant profit margins taking a further hit.
“We will never be beaten on price,” he said. “We take a forensic approach to our offering. We are hands down cheaper than our rivals.”
Aldi said it had ramped-up price gaps with its rivals, despite billions invested by big competitors Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
Barnes claimed it was 42p cheaper than rivals on the average product 33p less than Asda.
The chain is also increasing store openings, with 65 sites due to open in the current year, up from 54 in 2014.
Aldi, which opened its first UK store in 1990, said it created 7,000 jobs last year, and currently employs 28,000.
It aims to double store numbers to 1,000 by 2022, creating 35,000 jobs.
Aldi claims it is the third biggest fruit and vegetable supplier in the UK - selling more than Asda.
Barnes said: “The past 25 years has been an incredible journey for Aldi in the UK. During that time, the grocery market has changed beyond recognition - and changed for the better.
“At present, there are still 47% of households that don’t shop with us. We’re hugely excited about the enormous scope for growth over the next 25 years.”
www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/aldi-set-launch-online-sales-10211477
Surging supermarket store Aldi is to launch an online arm after revealing record results.
The German-owned budget retailer, which has a store on the A5 in Hinckley, will begin selling wine and certain non-food ranges over the internet from next year.
However, the company doesn’t have plans to do the same with groceries.
Matthews Barnes, boss of Aldi UK and Ireland, said it had chosen wine to launch with because of its popularity. But he added: “Groceries are not on the radar.”
He claimed online groceries was complex and hard to make money on. The company also refused to give details about the how many products would be available at launch.
Barnes also said it had no plans to open convenience size stores, another big growth area for Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
His comments came as Aldi announced sales soared nearly a third to £6.8 billion last year. Takings have doubled in the past three years.
However, annual profits dropped to £260.3 million because of money pumped into price cuts and expansion. The drop in profits was the first for at least five years and shows how it has become a victim of the savage price cutting that it and Lidl triggered.
However, Barnes vowed to retain the gap with rivals even if it meant profit margins taking a further hit.
“We will never be beaten on price,” he said. “We take a forensic approach to our offering. We are hands down cheaper than our rivals.”
Aldi said it had ramped-up price gaps with its rivals, despite billions invested by big competitors Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
Barnes claimed it was 42p cheaper than rivals on the average product 33p less than Asda.
The chain is also increasing store openings, with 65 sites due to open in the current year, up from 54 in 2014.
Aldi, which opened its first UK store in 1990, said it created 7,000 jobs last year, and currently employs 28,000.
It aims to double store numbers to 1,000 by 2022, creating 35,000 jobs.
Aldi claims it is the third biggest fruit and vegetable supplier in the UK - selling more than Asda.
Barnes said: “The past 25 years has been an incredible journey for Aldi in the UK. During that time, the grocery market has changed beyond recognition - and changed for the better.
“At present, there are still 47% of households that don’t shop with us. We’re hugely excited about the enormous scope for growth over the next 25 years.”
www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/aldi-set-launch-online-sales-10211477
