Aldi Nord and South’s strategy continues to evolve as they announced, for the first time, discount offers on permanently listed brands.

Expand offers to the permanent range

In Germany, Aldi Nord and Sud will be offering reduced prices on branded products from their permanent ranges. Aldi used to limit these offers to temporary listed products or brands, as seen last year.  The first offer starts next week with Kerrygold butter and 20% off on a 1.25L bottle of Coca Cola. The promotion will be an ongoing activity with new brands from the permanent range spotlighted every week.

Source: Aldi Nord

Closer relationship

This is the latest example of the two retailers working closer together. Earlier this year, they announced their common engagement and campaign to promote healthier nutrition. In 2018, some private labels were harmonised between the two companies. This standardisation is expected to continue and could lead to potential change in terms of supply chain.

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We look at the latest developments from Lidl and Aldi in Ireland.

Discounters continue to gain market share

The discounters are continuing to gain market share in Ireland with the latest Kantar data for the 12 weeks ending 30th December showing that Lidl and Aldi were the strongest performing grocery retailers in Ireland over the Christmas period. Sales value growth was 8.8% for Lidl and 4.6% for Aldi. Aldi's market share during this period was Ireland 10.8%, slightly ahead of Lidl at 10.5%.

Lidl's delivery service now covers all of Dublin

Lidl first introduced its delivery service in 2018 with a limited trial across five postcodes in Dublin. The retailer will now be rolling out the service across the capital with its partner Buymie. There are currently no plans to expand the service outside Dublin, however Lidl has not ruled this out for the future.

Source: Google Play

Buymie is a third-party grocery delivery service that began as a start-up in Dublin. It uses self-employed couriers to fulfil orders place on an app in a similar way to Deliveroo. The app can be used to shop multiple retailers including Tesco. Shoppers can purchase any items sold at Lidl with the exception of the 'Special Buys', as these are often bulky items that are challenging to deliver.

Online is a rapidly growing channel however the cost and complexity of online are not a natural fit for EDLC operators. But as online increasingly becomes the norm discounters risk missing out to competitors.

This is why it is so important for Lidl to continue to invest in evolving its digital capabilities. Alan Stewart, the head of ecommerce at Lidl Ireland said to The Irish Times;

“Our decision to partner with a dedicated on-demand service provider allows us to continue to invest in our expanding network of stores and also provides a real differentiator in the online grocery delivery market”

The rise in third-party delivery services is opening doors for supermarkets allowing them to satisfy the online demand, whilst not having to pay out for the infrastructure developments it requires.

Aldi opens more stores

Aldi has announced plans to open seven more stores in Ireland in 2019. The retailer is continuing to refurbish some of its estate as part of a €60m investment programme. It has said that expanding its network and renovating to 'Project Fresh' will help to futureproof the business. 

Aldi UK and Ireland has achieved carbon neutrality

Aldi has announced that it is now carbon neutral across all its 900 stores and 11 distribution centres. In 2019 it will be offsetting the equivalent of 160,000 tonnes of emissions. This is through various initiatives including the purchase of 100% green electricity, a certified energy management system and a £20m investment in environmentally-friendly refrigeration systems. It is also supporting various projects being delivered by ClimatePartner. For example protecting forests and wildlife, and educating children on environmental conservation.

Aldi has said it will continually review its operations and reduce emissions where possible.

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