A DISCOUNT supermarket with 1,000 stores has confirmed another high street location earmarked for closure – but it’s not all bad news.
The Aldi in Sheerness town centre, Kent, will be closing but it will open its new £9 million store in Neats Court, Queenborough.
PAAldi has confirmed its store in Sheerness town centre will be closing[/caption]
GettyThe discount supermarket giant will make up for it and open a £9 million store in Neats Court, Queenborough[/caption]
The new branch will welcome its first customers in April 2024 but the exact date has not yet been announced.
An Aldi spokesperson told The Sun Online: “Can confirm on background that the existing store is still trading and will be closing only when the new store opens, which is due late Spring next year.”
The new multi million-pound complex is opposite the Queenborough retail park and will be a third larger than the existing premises with 134 parking spaces – 59 more than in Sheerness.
It will also have new cycle and pedestrian links.
The Sheerness town centre Aldi is now set to be replaced by Home Bargains.
Up to 40 new jobs will be created by the new store and 30 staff from the Sheerness store will transfer over.
It comes after Aldi revealed 22 “priority” locations where it wants to open new stores as part of £1.4billion expansion plans.
The UK’s fourth largest retailer, which opened its 1,000th branch in September, has honed in on 11 UK regions where it wants to grow.
It comes as part of its plans to eventually increase its store portfolio to 1,500.
The German discounter is looking at sites in Kensington and Hackney in London, Cambridge and Brentwood in East Anglia and Clarkston and Cathcart in Scotland.
It is also scoping out locations in Nottingham and Derby in the East Midlands and Warrington and Barmhall in the North West.
Aldi is looking for sites inside and outside town centres, as well as in retail parks.
The sites need to accommodate a 20,000sq ft store with around 100 parking spaces.
George Brown, real estate director at Aldi UK, said: “We’re welcoming more and more customers through our doors each week, which is why we’re investing in new stores up and down the country to bring our great value groceries to even more people and meet the growing demand for Aldi.
“Shoppers know they’ll always get more for their money when they shop with us, and we’re confident Aldi’s success will continue to grow.”