1,200 JOBS TO BE CREATED THROUGH REST OF THE YEAR AND COMPANY TARGETS SAME NUMBER OF STORES BY 2025

GROCERY SALES SURGE IN THE FACE OF CHALLENGES FROM THE PANDEMIC

ATHERSTONE-BASED Aldi is not letting the "disruptive challenges" of Covid-19 halt its plans to open one new store each week between now and Christmas.

The UK's fifth largest supermarket is still on course to create 1,200 new jobs during the rest of this year and the same number of additional outlets by 2025.

The German discount retailers – with its HQ and distribution centre in Holly Lane –currently has more than 890 stores and around 35,000 UK staff.

It has already created 2,800 new permanent jobs this year after grocery sales surged in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

It said it now plans to create more than 1,200 extra roles as it expands its store estate – with Atherstone among 12 towns in Warwickshire where it is aiming to find sites of around 1.5 acres to accommodate a 20,000 sq ft store with 100 parking spaces,

Aldi said it will open new stores in Bristol, Edinburgh and Sandhurst this year as it continues towards it target of operating 1,200 stores in the next five years.

The supermarket chain saw sales increase by 13 per cent over the 12 weeks to July 12, according to figures from Kantar.

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer of Aldi UK, said: "As much as the disruption of the past few months has been challenging, it has also reminded us that there are still hundreds of towns across the UK where shoppers don't have access to Aldi's award-winning quality products and unbeatable prices.

"I've been very proud of the tireless work my colleagues have put into feeding the nation.

"To continue doing this and meet our goals of making Aldi accessible to even more shoppers, we will need thousands more amazing colleagues across the country."

Earlier this month Aldi UK announced it was installing electric vehicle charging points at its Atherstone headquarters to encourage and support the uptake of sustainable driving

In a new partnership with NewMotion, a leading European smart charging solutions provider, the supermarket chain will also install EV charging points at all new Aldi store locations across the UK, allowing customers to charge-up while shopping – as part of a three-year deal.