Aldi UK says December sales up 26%

LONDON (Reuters) -The British arm of German discount supermarket group Aldi said its sales in December rose 26% compared to the previous year, reflecting the opening of new stores and consumers’ search for savings in a cost-of-living crisis.

Aldi UK and Ireland said on Tuesday its sales topped 1.4 billion pounds ($1.67 billion) in December for the first time.

The group, privately owned by Aldi Sud, recently overtook Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth largest supermarket chain and has a market share of 9.3%.

It highlighted strong growth in sales of fresh meat, with fresh poultry and pork options both up over 28%.

It said sales of chilled desserts and fresh cheeses jumped by almost 30% and 50% respectively, while sales of snacks such as crisps and nuts were up over 40% as the mens soccer World Cup coincided with the run up to Christmas for the first time.

Monthly industry data has consistently shown Aldi and fellow German rival Lidl as the fastest growing UK grocers during the cost-of-living crisis as consumers have sought savings.

Also unlike their traditional rivals, Aldi and Lidl are still opening lots of new stores.

However, investment to keep a lid on prices has dented profit at both Aldi and Lidl.

($1 = 0.8364 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Paul Sandle and Sarah Young)

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