Discounter Aldi is celebrating four years of its presence in Italy by announcing its ambition to have 150 stores by the end of 2022.
All of Aldi’s current 140 stores are located in northern Italy, namely in the Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Emilia-Romagna regions, where about 30 million Italians live.
Northern Italy will continue to be the focus for further growth, although a future expansion into central and southern Italy has not been ruled out.
Read More: Aldi Opened 31 New Stores In Italy Last Year
Customer Recognition
Aldi’s success among Italian consumers has also been confirmed by national consumers’ association Altroconsumo, which presented the company with two awards: the cheapest discounter in 2021, and the preferred discounter by consumers in 2022.
Aldi’s strategy for Italy also includes a strong focus on sustainability, making energy efficiency one of the pillars of its environmental strategy.
ISO 50001 certified since 2019, the company has installed 87 photovoltaic systems at its outlets, which have produced more than 7.56 million kWh of energy since 2018, avoiding the emissions of more than 4,000 tonnes of CO2.
By implementing innovative technologies like LED lighting and state-of-the-art refrigerated counters, Aldi has reduced the energy consumption of its stores by 6.5% since March 2018.
CO2-Neutral Store
Last year, the retailer opened its first CO2-neutral shop, in Moniga del Garda (Brescia), based on a new construction prototype and featuring the highest level of energy efficiency.
The store concept, which has 15% lower energy consumption than an average outlet, will be replicated in 2022 and 2023 across other locations.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
