Two new Aldi stores are planned for Carlow-Kilkenny.
A store is proposed for the Hebron Road area of Kilkenny city and a third Aldi store is also planned for County Carlow in Bagenalstown.
Aldi Stores (Ireland ) is to create 650 new jobs in Ireland within the next three years as part of a €350 million expansion programme of its Irish store and distribution network. The announcement was made this week as Aldi’s Irish business reported a growth in sales of 20 per cent since the beginning of January 2008.
The expansion programme will see Aldi open a new store in Bagenalstown, adding to Aldi’s existing Co. Carlow stores located at Hanover Road, Graiguecullen and Tullow.
A new store which would be the first in the county is also planned for Kilkenny city.
Commenting on the expansion programme, Paul Foley, managing director of Aldi UK and Ireland said, “Our new €350 million investment underpins our commitment to Ireland and our on-going support to our customers, staff and Irish suppliers. We will open 17 new stores by the end of next year alone to satisfy Irish consumers demand for the quality and value Aldi provide. The new stores and jobs will be in towns and cities right around the country, in places like Drogheda, Wexford, Dublin and Mallow.”
2008 has been a successful year for Aldi with the Company experiencing a 20 per cent growth in sales since the turn of the year, increasing its share of the Irish grocery market to approximately 4.5 per cent. Performance in recent months has been particularly impressive, with the numbers of Irish customers visiting an Aldi store in October 2008 up 25 per cent compared to October 2007 and year on year sales for October up 23 per cent.
Aldi provides a top quality grocery offering at the lowest possible prices – typically 30 per cent cheaper than the market. It is unique amongst discount grocers in Ireland in that it operates an Irish buying department committed to sourcing as much of its product range from Irish suppliers as possible. Over 40 per cent of the groceries sold at Aldi are now sourced from Irish suppliers. This includes all the fresh beef, pork, lamb and poultry along with eggs, spring water, soft drinks, cakes, yogurts and artisan cheeses.
