Aldi is taking Australian producers to China

ALDI is taking over the world — and Australian food and wine producers are being invited along for the ride.

ALDI is taking over the world, and Australian food and wine producers are being invited along for the ride.

The German retailer that has grabbed about 10 per cent of Australia’s $90 billion grocery sales now has its eyes on the biggest market of all: China.

Starting in April next year, the discount chain will launch an e-commerce platform selling groceries into China, tapping into hundreds of millions of online shoppers.

And it’s promised to source the majority of the products to be sold from its Australia suppliers, leveraging their “clean and green” reputation.

“In the second quarter of 2017, Aldi will commence selling a carefully selected range of everyday grocery items to Chinese consumers via an online retailing platform with products delivered to consumers’ homes,” a company spokeswoman said in a statement.

“The majority of these products will be sourced from Aldi’s existing Australian suppliers, offering many of Aldi’s supply partners a new distribution channel and access to the world’s biggest market.”

The move comes after several years of research and strategy development on how to enter the Chinese market. No date has been given for the opening of bricks-and-mortar stores.

Aldi’s Chinese online shop will feature items from its every day non-chilled grocery range, along with its wine selection.

“We know there is a strong demand among Chinese consumers for Australian manufactured products and our goal is to provide a competitively priced alternative for shoppers seeking quality groceries,” the spokeswoman said.

“We believe our unique offer of high-quality Australian products at unbeatable prices will be an attractive proposition for Chinese consumers.”

She said the company had enjoyed “strong and long lasting relationships with many of our Australian suppliers” in the 15 years since launching here.

“Our growth across the country has provided increased business for these suppliers, allowing them to invest this back into their own operations and contributing to their success,” the spokeswoman said.

“We look forward to further expanding these relationships as we develop further opportunities in Asia.”

Aldi’s latest development comes as its archrival in Germany, Kaufland, weighs up a move down under.

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