Booming Aldi plans 100 new stores - including seven in Sheffield area

The discount chain pledged to invest £1.3bn and create more than 2,000 jobs.

It comes after the German company posted sales of £13.5 billion in 2020, up 10.2 per cent on the year previous.

Pre-tax profit fell five per cent to £264.8m after shoppers moved online in the pandemic. For the first time in a decade, Aldi and Lidl lost market share to rivals.

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Whilst 2020 was an extremely challenging year, our 41,000 colleagues stepped up when it mattered most - their dedication to the communities they serve has been nothing short of remarkable. Despite some of the most difficult conditions our sector has ever seen, our people underlined the strength, success and spirit of our business.

“As well as delivering record sales, we continued to invest for growth.”

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Aldi has 920 UK stores including 10 in Sheffield and 30 across South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.

In June, it said it was on the lookout for seven new locations in South Yorkshire including Totley, Fulwood, Meadowhall and Penistone.

Mr Hurley was also confident there won’t be disruption for customers this Christmas. The UK has a shortage of 100,000 lorry drivers due to Brexit and Covid.

He told the BBC: “There's no doubt current circumstances are testing the industry...but it's business as usual for us,” he said.

A typical Aldi store has 2,000 products compared to up to 40,000 in a large rival.

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Thank you. Nancy Fielder, editor.