Aldi, the German chain that has been tempting bargain-seekers with a narrow range of cheap groceries, is to hire 5,000 additional staff this year as it opens more than 80 new stores across the UK.
Among the towns where stores are being built is the prime minister’s upscale Cotswold constituency of Chipping Norton and the spa town of Harrogate in Yorkshire, highlighting the growing appeal of Aldi’s formula of cut-price basics and affordable luxuries, even in the country’s more prosperous regions.
“We’re looking for individuals with a real passion for retail who are seeking a long-term career with a growing and ambitious business,” said Ruth Doyle, regional managing director at Aldi.The expansion drive, part of a £600m investment programme announced in 2014, will take the number of UK branches to 700, at a time when traditional grocers are closing stores or scaling back expansion plans. Aldi has previously said it intends to operate 1,000 supermarkets in Britain by 2022.
The discount retailer pays workers at least £8.40 an hour (£9.45 an hour in London), the highest wage offered by any major supermarket and considerably more than the £7.20 minimum wage due to be introduced in April for workers over 25. Rival Tesco said this month that, beginning in July, staff would qualify for a wage of at least £7.62 after completing their ninth month at the supermarket.
Aldi’s graduate recruitment package is also among the most generous: university leavers hired as area managers receive an Audi A4 and a £42,000 starting salary, rising to £72,000 after four years.
Aldi, along with rival German discounter Lidl, has tried to win more affluent shoppers by introducing more premium products such as lobster, caviar and serrano ham. Its advertising campaigns have begun emphasising quality as well as price.
However, analysts said that unlike Lidl, which is enjoying double-digit like-for-like sales, Aldi is increasing sales only slightly faster than the rate at which it is opening new stores.
“We estimate the like for like sales at mature stores are close to flat,” said Bruno Monteyne, analyst at Sanford C Bernstein.
Sales grew nearly 14 per cent in the 12 weeks to the end of January, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel, making Aldi the sixth-largest British grocer, with a market share of 5.6 per cent.
No comments:
Post a Comment