Aldi plans £550m expansion spend

Aldi is planning to invest more than £550m in expanding and further improving its store and distribution network during 2024.

The spend includes plans to open stores in new locations across the country, as well as upgrading existing stores and distribution centres to support growth.

New stores set to open in 2024 will create over 1,500 new jobs, the retailer said, with further job opportunities in its current stores, regional distribution centres and UK offices.

Aldi currently has more than 1,000 stores across the UK and has committed to continuing towards its long-term target of 1,500 locations to meet demand.

Chief executive Giles Hurley said: “We’re continuing to welcome more and more new customers through our doors - with people coming for our low prices but staying for our award-winning quality and British sourcing.

“However, there are still areas of the country that don’t have an Aldi, or that need more or larger stores to meet demand. That is what our 2024 expansion plans aim to address. We now have more than 1,000 stores across the UK but there are plenty more Aldi stores still to come, in 2024 and beyond.”

New milestone in Too Good to Go partnership

Meanwhile, Aldi has reported a new milestone in its partnership with surplus food platform Too Good to Go.

The retailer has now sold some 400,000 Surprise Bags to customers in stores, alongside saving up to 1,000 tonnes of CO2e since the partnership began.

Aldi noted that since launching in February 2023, it has also saved customers  almost £8 million, with more than a million Too Good To Go users rating the supermarket as a favourite provider of surplus food bags in 2023.

The ‘Surprise Bags’ contain a range of grocery products that are approaching their sell-by or use-by dates at less than a third of the price, costing just £3.30 each for at least £10 worth of food. 

Liz Fox, national sustainability director at Aldi UK, said: “Our partnership with Too Good To Go has been vital in helping Aldi hit its target for reducing food waste early - which has since seen us set a new goal to reduce food waste by 90 per cent before 2030.

“Not only has the scheme helped reduce waste, but it also offers a simple and accessible way for customers to save extra money when shopping at Aldi - and we hope even more shoppers will be able to benefit from our Surprise Bags in the year to come.”