Aldi’s UK supermarket business has survived its worst downturn in more than a decade, but has struggled to find customers in a market that has been recovering.
The supermarket group has now turned its focus to the UK, as it faces the possibility of having to sell off its UK supermarket operations, including its flagship Brooklands supermarket in Brighton, in the next year.
The retailer has struggled since last autumn to regain customers after the closure of its second-largest store in England, Aldi Market, which closed in October 2014.
In the year to March 2017, sales in Britain’s second-biggest supermarket market fell 8% year on year to $4.45bn, according to data from research firm Euromonitor International.
It was the biggest drop in a year.
In a statement, Aldin said it had invested $3.4bn in its UK operations and was looking for new markets for its stores.
It said that in 2017, it planned to open more than 60 stores in the United Kingdom, including the largest Aldi store in the country, Brooklands.
Aldi, which is owned by Italian retailer ASDA, said it planned an initial investment of about $3bn to support the business.
But it added that it would need to keep adding to its stores to remain competitive.
“We remain committed to investing to increase our stores in key markets,” it said.
The chain said it was “deeply disappointed” with the UK.
Aldin had been losing customers in Britain since last year when it sold Brooklands and the Brooklands Store to supermarket giant Sainsbury’s.
The closures affected about 5,000 employees.
In February, Aldis stores in England and Wales lost 2,000 jobs, and its other UK stores in May and June lost 1,000 staff.
Last week, Aldine announced it was closing its Brooklands store and will sell its Brookland Store online.
It has also said it will sell the Brookland store in Manchester.
“As part of the ongoing review of our UK business, we will announce the details of our future business plans in due course,” it added.
Aldine’s UK chief executive, Michael Evers, told the BBC that he was “heartened” by the success of the company’s London stores and said Aldi had the potential to create more than 500 jobs.
“I know we are not where we need to be in terms of numbers, but I am absolutely convinced that this is an exciting time for Aldi,” he said.
Aldiner’s UK Chief Executive, Simon Hickey, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is an appetite for Aldin in this country.
“In a period of great uncertainty, we have now been able to re-energise the business, to turn the corner and we are seeing that in the market we are in.” “
Aldi was founded in 1955 and its stores have grown from just a handful of stores in Brighton to more than 40 today. “
In a period of great uncertainty, we have now been able to re-energise the business, to turn the corner and we are seeing that in the market we are in.”
Aldi was founded in 1955 and its stores have grown from just a handful of stores in Brighton to more than 40 today.
But the retailer has had to cope with the fallout from the collapse of the British economy following the 2008 financial crisis.
In March this year, Alda said it would lay off 2,500 people, the biggest cut in its workforce in almost a decade.
In June, Aldiras sales fell to $6.2bn.
A number of Aldi stores across the UK have closed in recent months, including in Bristol, Liverpool, Bristol, and London.