Aldi Salisbury to open today, first of six store openings this year
Aldi will open the doors to its 34th store in SA today, with five more openings across Adelaide planned this year.
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Discount supermarket chain Aldi will unveil its 34th South Australian store at Salisbury today, the first of six new stores to open across Adelaide this year.
The Salisbury supermarket, on the corner of Park Tce and Haigh St, will be followed by openings later in the year at Clovelly Park, Findon, Mawson Lakes, Norwood and Plympton.
It includes 1782sqm of retail, warehouse and other space, and is located on a 7326sqm site, which includes 115 car parking spaces.
Together with the other five stores set to open this year, Aldi will boost its South Australian workforce by 100 additional staff, adding to the 652 people it currently employs across its store network, SA head office and distribution centre.
Aldi Australia SA managing director Viktor Jakupec said the company contributed more than $168 million to the South Australian economy in 2018, and continued to develop partnerships with local producers and businesses.
“Every year, our impact on South Australia becomes more significant as our store network grows,” he said.
“Our focus in 2020 is to continue to support local communities through new store openings, employment and food charity partnerships.
“We look forward to a successful year of growth in the state which sees even more South Australians save on their grocery shop.”
Aldi’s new Norwood store, part of the Norwood Green development at the former Caroma factory site on Magill Rd, is due to open by the middle of this year.
A Plympton supermarket adjacent to The Highway hotel on Anzac Highway will open at a similar time.
Later in the year, the German grocer will open stores on South Rd at Clovelly Park, on Grange Rd at Findon and at Mawson Lakes.
Meanwhile, the Licensing Court of South Australia is currently considering a bid by Aldi to become the first supermarket to sell alcohol in-store.
The company last year applied for a “producer’s licence” at its Newton, Blackwood, Aldinga, Adelaide Airport, Hawthorn and Victor Harbor stores.
While packaged liquor licences specifically prohibit supermarkets from selling alcohol, a producer’s licence allows its holder to sell alcohol it produces, similar to the conditions under which cellar doors operate.
If approved, the licence would allow Aldi to sell its private label range of wine, beer and spirits.
However, it has come up against stiff opposition, with the South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA) and Australian Hotels Association among several groups fighting the grocer’s application in court.
Aldi opened its first supermarkets in SA in February 2016, with initial plans to expand its local footprint to 50 supermarkets across the state.
Through charity partnerships with OzHarvest, Foodbank and SecondBite, Aldi’s SA store network last year donated more than 491 tonnes of food - the equivalent of 980,000 meals - to local charities.
The chain’s expansion in South Australia follows competitor Kaufland’s decision to exit the Australian market, choosing instead to focus on its core markets in Europe.