Aldi joins the price war and competes with other budget supermarkets in Spain. In 2021, 40 new Aldi supermarkets will open in Spain, almost double the number of new stores it opened in 2020.
Aldi steps on the accelerator in Spain to gain market share and compete in the price war against the Mercadona, Lidl and Día. The Spanish news site eleconomista.es wrote on Monday the German chain plans to open another 40 supermarkets this year.
German Aldi and Lidl working hard in Spain
Aldi Spain’s CEO, Valentín Lumbreras, said the retailer opened 23 stores in 2020 and “wants to continue to be close to customers and offer them a simple, complete and safe purchase, maintaining our quality standards and always at the best price. Throughout 2020 we have guaranteed low prices for our customers and we want this to continue in 2021.”
The German chain currently has 330 supermarkets in Spain. Aldi focuses more and more on high traffic locations which is why many new shops open in city centres. Although Aldi is working hard, Lidl still stands head and shoulders above the rest. Aldi’s German competitor currently has around 600 stores in Spain.
Extra jobs with more supermarkets
In 2020, most of Aldi’s new stores opened in Andalucia, Madrid and Catalonia. These regions remain important to Aldi, but this year the German chain – in addition to more supermarkets in those regions – will also focus on more stores in Valencia and in the north of Spain, mainly the Basque Country and Galicia.
Aldi’s Spanish supermarkets currently employ some 5,500 employees. With the planned expansion, this will increase to around 6,000 in the first half of this year.