Aldi aiming to double its number of stores in Dublin, says Ireland MD

Supermarket boss Niall O'Connor praises 'very successful' trial of online offering with Deliveroo

Ambitions: Aldi’s Niall O’Connor is seeking expansion of the chain in Dublin

John Mulligan Twitter Email

August 27 2020 02:30 AM

German grocery chain Aldi could double the number of outlets it has in the Dublin region to about 50 in coming years as it seeks to boost its presence around the capital, according to the group managing director of its Irish arm, Niall O'Connor.

The retailer currently has just 22 stores in the Dublin area, with a total of 143 around the country.

"It's important that we keep doing what we're doing in terms of expansion," Mr O'Connor told the Irish Independent. "We're not everywhere."

He said the smaller footprint around Dublin was "pretty evident" as the country went into lockdown. "There's an opportunity for a lot more," he said of Aldi's ambitions in the greater Dublin area.

While he said that double the current number is conceivable, he added that "it's very difficult to say" what the actual figure will be.

Rival SuperValu, controlled by the Musgrave group, went some way towards solving its relative lack of outlets in the Dublin area by acquiring the Superquinn chain in 2011 from receivership. Superquinn's main presence was in and around the capital.

"Right now, we don't have that foothold that we would like," said Mr O'Connor of Aldi's footprint in Dublin. The retailer will soon open an outlet in Bayside on Dublin's northside and also in Blanchardstown.

The Aldi Ireland boss added that the chain has been looking at how to speed up its store development in Dublin.

"What's key for us is we shouldn't compromise. We need to deliver our business format for the consumer, but there are opportunities for us to do things in the interim that brings the Aldi brand… to consumers… sooner," he said.

That could see the chain pursuing more leaseholds, for instance, that it currently has, he explained.

Mr O'Connor said that the retailer opens six or seven stores a year on average here.

That means it would have a total of about 50 new stores across the country within seven years.

"So much of that depends on availability of sites, the planning process," he said. "We're committed in terms of expanding the portfolio. That would be our ambition - to do it as quickly as possible."

Aldi - which in Ireland has a 12.6pc share of the grocery market - is also keeping its trial delivery partnership with Deliveroo here under review, and Mr O'Connor said it's been "very successful" since its launch a few weeks ago.

The service initially operated at just two stores in Dublin and has now expanded to five around the capital and will have coverage of all the inner Dublin area. Two stores each in Cork and Galway are also now offering the service.

"Deliveroo is very early beginnings for us," said Mr O'Connor.

"I think we're going to take some tremendous learnings from that. It's a bit early yet to draw any conclusions.

"We've always been looking at online and understanding the online market and when and if it would be appropriate for us to enter," he added. "This was an opportunity for us with Deliveroo where we could, in quite a controlled way, offer the Aldi proposition.

"It is a trial, it's one that we're reviewing on an ongoing basis, but we're very pleased with the results. Once it's concluded, we'll make decisions as to whether that's something that we will continue , or maybe even evolve into something else," said the retail boss.

"We're doing this in the heat of Covid and our primary goal was to make sure we could get our product to customers who weren't in a position to avail of it."