UK: Aldi to invest £600 million in new stores and operations

Discount retailer Aldi is planning to invest £600 million ($1.02 billion) in its UK operations, European Supermarket Magazine reports, as the company seeks to expand its presence in the country.

According to a report from The Daily Mail, Aldi  will open 60 new stores next year. In addition, it will refit a number of existing stores and its regional distribution centre in Barnsley, as well as building a new regional distribution centre in Cardiff in the next two years.

Convenience stores are also a plank in the retailer's strategy. The consumer opened its first convenience store in London last year and a second is earmarked for early next year.

As part of the expansion Aldi's UK workforce will increase to 24,000, twice the number it employed in 2014.

Aldi's announcement comes on the back of news earlier this month that rival Lidl is to invest in £200 milllion in its stores and operations in the UK over the course of 2014.

Source: European Supermarket Magazine / Daily Mail