ALDI says it attracted a million new customers last year as the cost-of-living crisis prompted more Brits to turn to cheaper own-brand groceries.
Two thirds of the nation’s shoppers now use the budget supermarket, its boss said.
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Aldi yesterday released its financial accounts for 2022, revealing that sales were up by nearly £2billion to hit record levels of £15.5billion.
The discounter’s operating profits also trebled to £178.7million, while statutory pre-tax profits quadrupled from £35.7million to £152.6million — as it prepares to commit £1.4billion to its UK expansion.
The chain currently has nearly 1,000 stores across the country and hopes to open another 500 by 2050.
Speaking of the latest figures, CEO Giles Hurley said: “At the moment own-label goods are growing at twice the rate of branded goods.
“British customers are very savvy and low prices will never go out of fashion — so I do not see that changing.”
Around 90 per cent of Aldi’s goods are own-brand.
One 400g jar of its Nutoka chocolate spread costs 99p, while a 350g jar of Nutella costs £3.20 at Asda — and while eight Seal chocolate bars cost 75p at Aldi, seven Penguin bars would cost £1.75 at Morrisons.
The growing trend for own-brand groceries has seen rivals Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons relaunch their budget ranges in the past year to capture more value-hunting shoppers.
Data from Kantar for The Sun found that own-brand lines grew by 9.9 per cent in the last month, to now make up 58.9 per cent of total food sales.
Fraser McKevitt, at Kantar UK, said: “Supermarket lines now make up over half of everything we buy, up from 48 per cent in August 2013.
“This is equivalent to a £3billion shift in sales away from brands.”
Eco no-go at Lego
LEGO has abandoned its green efforts to replace plastic in its bricks with a recycled “magic material” — after finding it actually led to higher carbon emissions.
After two years of testing, the toymaker’s efforts to make bricks from recycled plastic bottles and ditch oil-based plastics — which are used in 80 per cent of the billions of pieces it makes each year — has been scrapped.
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Using the recycled material would have led to a larger carbon footprint over time due to the new equipment required to make it work, CEO Niels Christiansen revealed.
The Danish toy giant said that it is still committed to making Lego bricks from sustainable materials by 2032 and that it is spending £1.14billion on its efforts to do so.
It is also set to totally eliminate single-use plastic bags in its packaging by 2025.
The U-turn is the latest indication of how hard it is for firms to develop environmentally friendly alternatives to their legacy products.
Punters hammer bet giant
WHAT were the odds on that?!
Sports betting punters look to have finally got the upper hand over the bookies, leading to Ladbrokes’ owner to warn that its revenues have dipped.
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Shares in Entain dropped by more than 12 per cent yesterday to 927.18p — still valuing the company at £5.9 billion — after it said that its online gaming revenue would be lower than expectations.
The business blamed “adverse sporting results”.
Entain said regulators’ plans to crack down on problem gambling, which includes new limits on online stakes, would also limit its profits.
It has already said implementing the new “affordability checks” and reforms will cost the business £110million of revenues, but the fresh warning means the hit could be bigger.
Entain, which also owns the Coral and Bwin sites, said it would now conduct a “comprehensive market review”.
Ale ‘sold as prime’
A BREWER has been blasted for selling beer in cans designed to look like popular energy drink Prime.
Tiny Rebel’s Primed resembled Prime’s blue raspberry hydration drink.
It also marketed a TinyFast Milkshake IPA mimicking SlimFast’s dieting shake.
Industry regulator the Portman Group said Tiny Rebel, based in Newport, Gwent, had been socially irresponsible.
The firm has now stopped making the beers.
Nissan’s electric dreams
NISSAN has vowed to go all-electric across Europe by 2030, despite the British Government pushing back the petrol-diesel ban.
The Japanese maker of the popular Qashqai vehicle made the announcement yesterday.
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Makoto Uchida, the president and chief executive, said: “We believe it is the right thing to do for our business, our customers and for the planet. There is no turning back now.”
The car maker said it plans to make 19 fully-electric and eight hybrid models before 2030.
Yesterday it launched a new electric vehicle, Concept 20-23.
Nissan, which employs 7,000 in the UK, also plans to build an affordable “entry-level” electric version of the Micra at its Sunderland factory.
It is the only car company to have a battery-making site in the UK, giving it an advantage over rivals, and has committed another £1billion to the facility.
Nissan said it will “continue to champion EV as the best way to provide cleaner, simpler and more affordable mobility”.
FAMILIES are £1,400 worse off a year thanks to the UK’s slowing economy, says a report by the Resolution Foundation.
It found that the shrinking economy has led to it being 4 per cent smaller since the last financial crisis in 2008.
City gets tough on sex pests
THE financial watchdog and bank regulator have said they will beef up their monitoring of misconduct in the City in a consultation aimed at boosting staff diversity.
In the wake of scandals, the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority want to introduce new rules and guidance making clear that misconduct such as bullying and sexual harassment “poses a risk to healthy firm culture”.
FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi said yesterday: “We’re strengthening our expectations on how the firms we regulate consider such misconduct when deciding whether someone is fit and proper to work within the industry.”
It comes after hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey quit his firm over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied.
