Aldi has today announced plans to open 11 new stores in Dublin over the next five years in a €73m investment.
The supermarket group said the new stores will see the creation of 350 full-time permanent jobs and 550 construction jobs over the five years.
Aldi said it examining 25 sites as potential locations for the 11 new stores. It has agreed terms for a store in Adamstown while it is working on plans for the additional 10 stores over the next five years.
The group has 24 stores in Dublin and has made a capital investment of €167m in Dublin over the past 20 years.
Aldi currently employs over 670 people in Dublin with a €20.3m total salary spend across its 24 stores in the county.
Working with 90 local producers, Aldi said it spent €184m with these Dublin based suppliers in 2021.
News of the expansion comes as Aldi said its turnover in Ireland grew by 1% to over €2 billion in the year to 31 December 2021, up €23m on 2020.
The group also increased its total customers in 2021 by a further 4% and recent data from Kantar shows sales growing at 3.5% with market share of 12.7%.
Overall, Aldi employs over 4,650 people across 155 stores in Ireland and supports over 330 Irish suppliers.
Niall O'Connor, Group Managing Director at ALDI Ireland, said that despite the continuing impact of Covid-19 on the business last year, it continued to grow and invest as part of its ongoing commitment to deliver sustained value.
"We made substantial investments to keep prices low for customers, increasing our store network and creating employment," Mr O'Connor said.
"We plan to continue on this trajectory by prioritising our 2023 ambition to expand in Dublin. We will continue to invest in the interest of our customers and keeping prices low despite the current challenges," he added.
Mr O'Connor also said the group is acutely aware of the impact of this current inflationary period on its customers, its people, its suppliers and on the communities where it operates.
"This is why it is important that the necessary conditions are in place to facilitate and support our expansion," he said.
"New stores in 2022 means we create employment where it matters, we create opportunities for local businesses and suppliers to supply a large retailer and we offer choice in retail for customers at a time when competition and low prices matter most," he added.
