Aldi posts record UK sales, pledges £300m investment

Aldi promised on Monday to invest £300m in its British stores, as it rides the wave of its record £7.7bn sales in 2015 - a 12% increase.

Operating profits for the year reduced 1.8% to £255.6m - from £260.4m a year earlier - which the retailer put down to a “continued investment” in prices.

The privately-held German company operates 785 supermarkets in the UK and Ireland, with plans to increase that to 1,000 by 2022.

As part of that goal, it will open 70 new stores in 2017 alone, with the investment also paying for the refurbishment of more than 100 locations in the next 12 months.

“We've completed our largest-ever listening exercise, involving over 50,000 shoppers across our stores,” said Aldi UK and Ireland CEO Matthew Barnes.

He said the upgraded format in the new and refurbished stores will include refreshed fixtures and fittings in the alcohol, produce and food-to-go departments, as well as more refrigerated space.

“We've listened and we're evolving our new format for new and existing stores to deliver what our customers want.”