Budget Chain Aldi Sees Profit Boom In Britain

Discount supermarket Aldi has announced record financial results with a market share that continues to grow.

Group operating profit for 2013 rose by more than 50% on the previous year with UK turnover reaching a record high of £5.2bn, up from £3.89bn.

And Aldi UK pre-tax profit rose 65% to £260.9m in the year ending 31 December, with sales from UK stores open at least a year up 30%.

Roman Heine, group managing director of Aldi UK, said: "We keep prices constantly low while keeping product quality consistently high, which is exactly what shoppers want.

"They had become used to thinking you have to pay more for better products. We've shown them this doesn't have to be the case."

The results are further evidence that budget stores pose an increasing threat to Britain's major supermarkets.

Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons have all recently lost market share to Aldi and Lidl at the discount end and the more upmarket Waitrose.

Shoppers at the Aldi store in Manchester's Arndale centre told Sky News that it was simply the store's cheaper prices that attracted them

One woman said she used various supermarkets depending on how well-off she was feeling, but always used Aldi if she wanted to save money.

The German discount chain claims that efficiencies and operational costs are used to create lower checkout prices rather than to boost profit margins.

It cites "shelf-ready" packaging as one example of cost savings that were past on to shoppers.

But the company denies being a "no-frills" business.

Mr Heidi said: "No-frills suggests that shoppers have to make a compromise and that they are less satisfied with their shopping ... this is not the case at Aldi."