Aldi plans to open a €100 million (£71.3 million) regional distribution centre in the south of the Republic of Ireland in an effort to drive growth in the country.
The discounter said that the office and warehouse facility will be built on a 32 acre site in Mitchelstown, County Cork and will serve Aldi’s stores in Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.
The distribution centre will help fuel Aldi’s growth plans for Ireland.
Planet Retail global research director Bryan Roberts said: “It should enable them to grow a lot quicker. They obviously like to squeeze as much efficiency as possible from any market.”
An Aldi spokeswoman said that the facility “will be an important development to our business”.
In July, Aldi UK managing director Paul Foley told Retail Week that the retailer plans to open up to 250 UK and Ireland stores in the next four to five years and sees potential for 1,500.
Aldi, which has an existing distribution centre in County Kildare has 52 stores in Ireland.
However, Roberts warned that Ireland has limited growth potential, given the small size of many cities and towns and the fierce competition from grocers including Lidl, Tesco, Dunnes Stores and Musgrave Group’s Centra and Supervalu chains.
No comments yet