Aldi cheers bumper Christmas with ‘record’ sales in ‘challenging time for many’
Aldi enjoyed a bumper Christmas as cut-price sparkling wine and wagyu fat-roasted potatoes helped it deliver record sales.
The German discounter said sales at its British arm grew 3 per cent year-on-year to £1.65billion in the four weeks to Christmas Eve.
It said its £325million investment in lowering prices had worked in its favour, enjoying its best Christmas on record.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said this came amid a ‘challenging time for many’ – which has seen grocers compete to slash prices.
The figures came as separate data from market research firm NIQ revealed that supermarkets had their ‘biggest ever Christmas’, spending £19.6bn over the month to December 27 – 2.5pc more than last year
But this was mostly due to higher prices as unit growth fell 0.2pc while ‘consumers were cautious,’ according to NIQ expert Mike Watkins.
In its results, Aldi said it sold 5.5 million bottles of sparkling wine in the run up to Christmas, while products in its premium own-label range – including a £4.49 box of white chocolate ganache pine cones – also flew off the shelves.
It sold 56million potatoes, with popular products including its wagyu fat-roasted potatoes for £2.99, as well as 37million carrots and 500,000 turkeys.
Total sales in the week before Christmas increased by 5 per cent to £500million.
Aldi UK boss Giles Hurley said it ‘remains a challenging time for many’.
Hurley said: ‘This Christmas proved once again that a great quality Christmas can still be affordable.
‘We delivered a Christmas without compromise, offering customers award-winning British products at unbeatable prices. We’re grateful that more people than ever chose Aldi for their Christmas shop and trusted us to deliver both quality and value during what remains a challenging time for many.’
Aldi’s rival Lidl was the first major grocer to deliver its Christmas trading update last week, hailing £1.1bn in turnover and sales growth of 10 per cent in the four weeks to Christmas Eve.
Highly anticipated statements are expected this week from Britain’s biggest supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, while Marks & Spencer will also shed some insight into food sales.
Aldi, which is owned by Germany’s Albrecht family, plans to invest £1.6 billion over two years, opening 80 stores to add to its existing 1,060.
It is expected to overtake Asda, which has struggled under its private equity owners, in terms of market share in the coming months.
Speaking before Christmas, the Aldi boss told The Mail on Sunday it was ‘difficult to crystal-ball gaze’ on when this could be.
‘I learned during the pandemic to be careful of doing that, as things change very quickly.’ However, he said: ‘No one has had, or does have, our ambition and will to grow.’
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