Aldi UK chief executive Matthew Barnes has told Retail Week that that he sees the discounter's forthcoming online sales portal as “a path to profitability”, describing the sale of wine by the case, which will be introduced in Q1 of next year, as “a toe in the water”.
Aldi also plans to begin selling its non-food product ranges online such as DIY tools and cycling gear in the second quarter.
Barnes told Retail Week that while sales growth declined considerably in 2014, cash sales growth is now in fact greater than it was in 2012 also; the retailer has seen an increase in customer numbers, which is aligned with or greater than previous years.
Aldi is currently growing faster than any other UK retailer and Barnes is confident that there will be no change to this anytime soon, saying that the talk of growth slowing is “short sighted”.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Ciara Mooney. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
