10 new Aldi stores are set to create 250 jobs
The new stores will be dotted around the country but primarily located in Munster with one each in Limerick (Newcastle West) and Waterford (Ardkeen); two in Tipperary (Roscrea and Cashel) and a further two in Cork (Wilton and Skibbereen).
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Aldi Mitchelstown Region managing director, Niall O’Connor, confirmed the location of the stores in the southern region which covers Galway; Mayo; Kilkenny; and Wexford, in addition to the six Munster counties.
“In 2014, we’ll have opened eight stores nationally, three of which were in the Naas region [and] five here. Of those five, three of those have been in the Cork area specifically. We’ve opened a store in Macroom, a store in Glanmire and obviously we’re about to open the Elysian.
“We plan to open eight stores from the Mitchelstown region and our colleagues in Naas will open at least two stores. Of the eight, the two we’ve planned in Cork will be in Wilton and also, hopefully, one in Skibbereen,” said Mr O’Connor.
The company will continue its expansion with eight to 12 new stores each year over the coming years, Mr O’Connor added, but insisted that the retailer’s growth was not overly aggressive and would be driven by demand in specific regions.
The two additional stores in the Mitchelstown region planned for 2015 will be in Knocknacarra and Oranmore, both in Co Galway.
Further north, Athy and Terenure are the planned sites for the Naas region stores.
With an average of 25 employees per store, Aldi is set to add at least 250 employees to its staff in 2015, following on from stronger than expected recruitment this year.
In May, the company announced that it was looking to take on 450 new employees but has already recruited in excess of 520, including 17 area managers.
The German discount retailer has continued to eat into the more established supermarket multiples’ market share, with the latest Kantar Worldpanel figures putting their share at 8.4%, representing sales growth of 14.4%.
Aldi’s growth is also borne out by its latest set of accounts which incorporates its UK and Ireland business and shows a 65% rise in pre-tax profits to €327m while revenues totalled €6.6bn — an increase of 36%.
Despite the company’s incredible growth, Mr O’Connor insists that the emphasis is on optimisation not maximisation and, as such, it is cognisant of the needs of the wider population much like the company’s original outlook in post-war Germany where the pursuit of profits was not its driving motivation.
Mr O’Connor also rejected the notion that with a number of large retailers present in towns across the country — including Mitchelstown where Aldi’s mammoth 59,535 sq metre regional distribution centre is located — that the future is bleak for independent retailers.
Aldi this morning opens its 113th store in the bottom floor of the landmark €150m Elysian Tower, developed by O’Flynn Construction in Cork City centre, which Mr O’Connor said will quite similar to a standard Aldi store format.
