Aldi to open more stores in 2015 than its ‘Big Four’ rivals combined
Aldi assault on the UK supermarket scene shows no signs of slowing with the discounter expected to open more shops in the UK this year than Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons combined.
According to a new report from the commercial property research body IPD and property agent Colliers, first published by the Telegraph, Alid is set to open 1.02m sq ft of store space in 2015 compared to 450,000 sq ft for Sainsbury’s, 220,000 sq ft for Morrisons, and 170,000 sq ft for Tesco.
Asda intends to open 550,000 sq ft while Aldi’s main discount rival, Lidl, is expected to open 340,000 sq ft of space.
Tesco has struggled to compete against the rise of discounters. In a cost-saving plan it announced the closure of 49 of its most unprofitable stores. Similarly, in its most recent financial update Morrisons announced plans to close 23 convenience stores and slow down the pace of new store openings in the coming year.
Out of the 3.9m sq ft of supermarket space planned for Britain’s high streets only 29 per cent will spear in the superstore format. Around 54 per cent will be small supermarkets of between 3,000 sq ft and 15,000 sq ft – the size of an average Aldi store – and 17 per cent will be convenience stores.
James Watson, head of UK investment at Colliers, said the move away from large store formats mirrors the shift in consumer habits to go to smaller shops more frequently.
The research comes as Aldi celebrates its 25th anniversary of opening its first UK store. It was named the first official supermarket sponsor of Team GB in a deal estimated to be worth around £10m.