The German distributor Aldi announced Thursday the opening in 2022 of a hundred additional stores in France, with the aim of becoming "
leader
" of the discount on the hexagonal market, for the moment dominated by its compatriot Lidl.
Read alsoLidl sets out to conquer new territories in France
"
Next year, we plan to open more than 100 new points of sale in order to strengthen our presence (...) throughout France,
" Aldi France CEO Philip Demeulemeester said in a statement.
"An Aldi store in less than a quarter of an hour"
Present in the country since 1988, Aldi currently employs more than 15,000 people in “
more than 1,300
” stores, located throughout the country.
"
Our ambition is that all customers can access an Aldi store in less than a quarter of an hour's journey, wherever they are in the country,
" said the company on Thursday.
"
By bringing together (...) Leader Price and Aldi, we have taken an important step towards achieving this goal,
" she added.
The group considerably expanded its presence in France last year, with the acquisition of 545 Leader Price stores from the Casino group, as part of an expansion strategy.
Aldi intends to "
become a leader in the French discount market
," said the company.
Also used to the buzz about its products, Lidl is launching a new version of its robot cooker
The discount sector in France is dominated by another German group, Lidl, which held around 6.8% of the distribution market share last October, according to the monthly barometer KantarWorldPanel.
Aldi is currently far behind, with only 2.5% of the market share.
Discount, which has been on the rise in France for several years, remains however below the heavyweights of the distribution sector, such as Carrefour (19.6%) and Leclerc (22.6%).
