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Christmas trading was Aldi’s best ever

Aldi's luxury range of premium drinks.
Aldi's luxury range of premium drinks.

An increased demand in premium products has helped German supermarket giants ring up sales of almost £1 billion in the UK during December.

Aldi said it had experienced its best ever Christmas trading period, with sales being driven by customers switching from other food retailers amid higher demand for its luxury items.

Giles Hurley, chief executive of the discount superstore in the UK, said: “We saw strong growth across all key categories.

“However, the standout performance was in our Specially Selected brand where shoppers treated themselves to premium products for a fraction of the price they would have paid elsewhere for similar quality products.”

The influx of customers meant that the week of December 17 was Aldi’s busiest-ever in the UK, with sales more than 10% higher than the previous year.

More than 17 million bottles of wine, champagne and prosecco were sold, along with 50m mince pies and 100m sprouts.

The latest update comes as Aldi’s UK market share stands at an all-time high of 7.6%, according to the latest Kantar Worldpanel data.

The retailer, which opened its 800th UK store in 2018, plans to open more in the coming years to reach 1,200 by 2025.

In December, the supermarket chain announced north and north-east producers were set to cash in as eight new Aldi stores are due to open across Scotland this year.

The stores will be in Kilmarnock, East Kilbride, Dalgety Bay, Dundee, Crieff, Milngavie, Cumbernauld and Leith.

The openings will create 200 jobs, taking the total number of staff employed by the discount retailer in Scotland to 2,300.

They are expected to be good news for local suppliers whose produce is sold across the country.

Richard Holloway, regional managing director for Scotland, said: “Next year will be extra special for us when we will mark 25 years since we opened our first store in Scotland on Glencairn Street in Kilmarnock.

“We currently have 85 stores across the country and those numbers are continuing to grow year -on-year.