Aldi has reported its “best Christmas ever” after Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer said it made sales of more than £1.6bn in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, thanks to shoppers trading up to its premium range and new store openings.
The supermarket chain said total sales for the crucial holiday period increased by 3.4% year-on-year, helped by a 12% increase in its Specially Selected own-label products.
Sales were also boosted by the addition of about 3.5% space from new stores, according to the Shore Capital retail analyst Clive Black, indicating flat underlying sales and a potential drop in the number of items sold once inflation is taken into account.
The last three months of the year are known as the golden quarter in the retail industry as households go on a spending spree for presents and food. Aldi said Monday 23 December 2024 was its busiest-ever trading day, with 3 million customers visiting. Its previous busiest day was Friday 22 December 2023.
Its fellow German-owned rival, Lidl, also reported record Christmas sales of more than £1bn. Lidl sales rose by 7% for the period, albeit after it increased its floor space by 3%. The two German chains have changed British spending habits by emphasising lower prices over extensive choice.
The far from bumper figures for the discounters precede industry-wide data from analysts at Kantar on Tuesday, followed by trading updates from both the market leaders Tesco and Sainsbury’s this week as part of a flurry of industry news. Both are expected to have a good festive season, after gaining market share through the year, with rivals Asda and Morrisons weakened by heavy debts after private-equity takeovers in recent years.
The clothing and homewares retailer Next kicks off the listed company’s reporting season on Tuesday, amid fears of a particularly tough festive season for fashion sales, while Marks & Spencer reports later in the week.
Aldi, with more than 45,000 staff across 1,020 stores, overtook Morrisons in 2022 to become the fourth-largest grocer by market share. It now has 10.3% of UK spending, according to Kantar. Aldi claims it has overtaken the No 3 supermarket Asda in terms of shopper numbers, although Kantar data suggests it is two percentage points behind in spending terms.
However, Aldi has been put under pressure byTesco and Sainsbury’s, which have won back customers by pledging to match prices with the generally cheaper rival. Aldi said last year it had made £100m in price cuts to try to maintain its position.
Giles Hurley, Aldi UK’s chief executive, said: “We will not only remain the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket, but we will ensure the price gap between ourselves and the traditional full-price supermarkets is as big as ever.”
Aldi sold 350,000 turkeys, more than 400 tonnes of beef, and almost 3m Brussels sprouts, as well as 50m mince pies and about 25m pigs in blankets over the festive period.
