LONDON (Reuters) – The British arm of German discounter Aldi said on Thursday it was looking to hire more than 6,000 workers, continuing its expansion plans after a robust performance over the key holiday season.

New stores were planned in Norwich and Newcastle in England, it said in a statement. The company is also recruiting for 450 jobs across its 11 regional distribution centres.

Aldi and Lidl, another German discount retailer, reported double-digit sales growth for the Christmas period on strong demand for their low-price products during a cost-of-living crisis.

Privately-owned Aldi, which has over 990 stores and 40,000 employees in Britain, last year overtook Morrisons to become Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket chain.

Aldi, which says it opened the world’s first discount grocery store, and Lidl have grown rapidly over the last decade, chipping away at the market share held by established supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.

That has helped the duo to continue expanding even as costs surge.

(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Kate Holton)