Aldi enjoys bumper UK sales over festive period
Aldi raked in more than £10bn in sales last year for the first time in its history. The German supermarket chain notched up up record sales over Christmas as shoppers snapped up luxury products and cut-price vegetables.
It meant its total UK sales were more than 15% higher during December compared to the same month in 2016.
The retailer, which has 762 stores in the UK, reiterated its long-term strategy to have a network of 1,000 by 2022.
The grocery chain also announced it will pay all store assistants a minimum hourly rate of £8.85 nationally and £10.20 in London from February 1, which Aldi said makes it the UK’s “highest-paying supermarket”.
Aldi also pledged to match the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended rates of £8.75 nationally and £10.20 in London for all of its employees from the same date.
Aldi has shared some of the secrets behind its success in the UK: 1. Most stores have the same layout
All of Aldi’s UK stores are around 1,125m2 in dimension, which makes it easy for shoppers to navigate the aisles. 2. Smaller stores with smaller staffing numbers The smaller store format means on average each store can be staffed effectively by 30 to 40 staff.
The supermarket chain says the average shopper can finish their shopping in 27 minutes because of the size of its stores. 3. Smaller range of products
Aldi said it saves money by offering a “carefully selected range of products”.
It said the total number of its product lines is 1,750 compared with another major supermarket which has 40,000.
For example, Aldi stocks only one variant of tomato ketchup whereas other supermarkets have 20 or so.
Aldi buys the product in large volumes and therefore has fewer overheads in terms of transporting the stock.
It said this delivers huge savings for customers. 4. But keep some big brands
The supermarket doesn’t only stock Aldi products. It does carry some of the bigger brands that it feels cannot be beaten. However, when it feels it can beat or compete strongly with a brand, it will do so.
The Aldi range of nappies, Mamia, are now only outsold by Pampers in the UK. 5. Get established brands to make Aldi-own products
Some of the Aldi products are made by established brands, but are just packaged differently. 6. Custom shelving
The standard shelves in Aldi are 600mm deep and 800mm for the base shelves, with a width of 125mm. This means that products can easily be slid into place. 7. Planning for trends
There is a special team at Aldi who plan the items that go in the middle part of the supermarket, which changes weekly.
The items are planned a year in advance so that Aldi can get the best prices. 8. No fiddly barcodes
The barcodes on products are designed to ensure a speedy process at the till. Aldi said its tills are more than 40% quicker than competitors’.
The efficient barcodes on packaging ensure items are scanned as easily and quickly as possible.
The majority of its products have multiple barcodes on the packaging to speed up the process. 9. High-quality wine
Aldi’s bid to appeal to the middleclass shopper is based on stocking good-quality wine at reasonable prices. 10. Tidy behind the scenes Aldi stores are well-organised behind the scenes, with cages, chilled and frozen areas kept in an orderly fashion. 11. Few promotions
Aldi avoids complicated promotions and instead focuses on “providing quality products at transparent everyday low prices that consumers can easily understand”.
Only 8% of Aldi’s products are on promotion at any one time, compared to the industry average of around 40%, the supermarket says. 12. Happy staff
Aldi has announced it will pay all store assistants a minimum hourly rate of £8.85 nationally and £10.20 in London from February 1, 2018, reaffirming its position as the UK’s highest-paying supermarket 13. Making the most of logistics
Aldi said it has the most efficient logistics operation in the UK. A full lorry will be sent out, rather than two half-full lorries, and they are also used to collect stock from suppliers on their way back to the distribution centre. 14. Fresh and local
Each store manager puts in an order every night to the distribution centre. This ensures suppliers are given a clear indication of how well its products are selling and whether more or less is needed.
Aldi also tries – depending on the season and if it is grown in the UK – to use local produce.