Discount firm Aldi has committed itself to continued expansion after booking a record profits haul and pulling in more well-heeled customers.
The value supermarket said it was on track to open 50 UK stores this year including a new site at the Stack Leisure Park in Lochee, Dundee after revealing how revenue climbed by more than £1 billion during 2012, amid a continued squeeze on household budgets.
Total turnover rose by more than 40% in the period, climbing to £3.89bn, while pre-tax profits rocketed by 123.9% to £157.9 million.
Aldi said it had seen increased footfall and bigger baskets from its customers as they sought out better value.
Its aggressive expansion strategy will take the German brand into many more affluent areas for the first time, and comes in contrast to other supermarkets’ current approach.
Scotched by the difficult consumer environment, grocery market leader Tesco and number four player Morrisons have called time on the so-called “space race”, while Asda has also scaled back its plans.
But Aldi, which says it will have spent £185m and created 6,000 jobs by the end of the year, said “polarisation” in the market was driving its growth alongside upmarket chain Waitrose.
Cash-strapped households are flocking to the low-cost chain as budgets shrink amid stubbornly high inflation, it said, while a string of accolades and products including British sirloin steak and extra virgin olive oil draw wealthier customers.
Joint managing director Matthew Barnes said his chain was attracting a “broader demographic”.
“We have opened in affluent locations like Knutsford and Winchester and have quickly won over local customers with our award-winning quality and value,” he said.
“If we can open more stores, we will make Aldi a more convenient place for people to do their weekly shop.”
Aldi’s market share now stands at 3.7%, up by almost a third from a year earlier, when it stood at 2.9%. But the measure continues to slide at Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, with Sainsbury’s the only one of the big four to grow year-on-year share during the summer months.
Fruit and vegetable sales soared by almost 50% in 2012, the firm said, while meat sales have risen 60% year on year for the past three years.
Its premium Specially Selected range grew sales 40%. Customers spend an average £18.63, Aldi added, buying around 17 products.
Aldi has doubled the size of its Christmas range in response to the upturn in trading. The fresh expansion will take the Aldi group to 500 UK outlets when it opens a new site in Bury St Edmunds later this month.
It already has more than 7,000 stores across three continents.