Aldi UK says shoppers trading up as inflation eases

By Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) -Supermarket group Aldi UK said its prices this summer were on average lower than a year ago, easing some of the pressures on its British shoppers who were treating themselves to more of its premium ranges.

The country’s fourth largest supermarket group reported on Monday a 16% rise in sales in Britain and Ireland to 17.9 billion pounds ($23.5 billion) in 2023, a year that saw grocery price inflation peak at 17.5% in March.

Chief Executive Giles Hurley said sales growth had slowed this year as inflation sharply declined, with the most recent 12-week data showing Aldi was achieving growth of 0.5%, compared to two-year growth of over 20%. That put it behind some of its rivals, including Lidl.

Hurley said the slowdown was not surprising, given Aldi was reducing prices ahead of the market.

“The latest data from Kantar shows Aldi is the only supermarket that’s not inflating, while our own internal data shows that over the summer our prices were lower on average than they were a year ago,” he told reporters.

He said times were still tough for millions of families across Britain and Aldi still offered unrivaled value for them.

“(But) I think some customers are feeling the effect of inflation easing, and they’re choosing to trade up or possibly choosing to treat themselves at home instead of that restaurant experience in the hospitality sector,” he said.

The company, which is owned by Germany’s Aldi Sud, trails Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda in sales.

Pretax profit in 2023 more than trebled to 536.7 million pounds, as its operating margin recovered to 3.1%, after falling to 1.2% in the prior year, largely due to pandemic-related costs.

Hurley said he was confident total sales would increase this year as Aldi opens another 23 stores, implements further price cuts and unveils its Christmas range.

Aldi will end 2024 with 1,050 stores in Britain, he said, adding its ambition to reach 1,500 was unchanged.

($1 = 0.7625 pounds)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)