Aldi has announced plans for a £300 million store refurb as it unveiled record UK sales figures.
The discounter reported that sales in the UK and Ireland hit £7.7 billion last year - double the level of just three years ago. Customer numbers also increased by 761,000, with some 13.9m households now shopping at Aldi.
Fresh produce was among the most successful categories over the year, with sales up 18 per cent.
One of the most noteworthy announcements, though, centred around the move to spend £300m on a new store format designed to 'enhace shopper experience and showcase quality', suggesting Aldi may be moving away from its basic layout and towards a more mainstream supermarket experience.
Among the features will be newly designed fixtures for fresh produce, as well as a new food-to-go fixture. There will be a significant increase in chilled space, which Aldi said underlines its commitment to fresh food.
Other improvements include new in-store colours to signpost categories, signage focusing on quality, range and provenance, and product-specific lighting.
Aldi anticipates over 100 stores will be refurbished next year, and also plans to open 70 new stores over the year.
Chief executive Matthew Barnes said: 'The overwhelming message [from customers] was clear: our customers love the quality of our products, our commitment to low prices and the efficiency of our stores, but they want to shop our fresh produce, fresh meat and fish, food-to-go and award-winning wines more easily.
'We've listened and we're evolving our format for new and existing stores to deliver this, while staying true to our core principle of efficiency.'
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