The food discounter Aldi Süd is planning hundreds of new stores in China. "China is and remains one of the most interesting markets in all areas and the rapidly increasing size of the middle class leads to huge potential in the food market," Aldi China boss Roman Rasinger told the "Handelsblatt" on Monday.
So far, Aldi is only present in Shanghai. The city with its 25 million inhabitants and the Yangtze River Delta with more than 100 million inhabitants are "currently a priority for Aldi," said Rasinger.
Aldi opened its first own stores in Shanghai three years ago. The dealer has now gained so much experience with the new market that he can speed up further expansion, the report said. For Shanghai alone, Rasinger sees potential for a three-digit number of transactions.
But Aldi's plans went beyond that. There are numerous other megacities in the Yangtze River Delta, such as Hangzhou and Nanjing. "We are currently evaluating which city we will go to next," reported Rasinger. Aldi has great potential to fill “white spots on the supply map”.
Unlike in Germany, Aldi does part of its business in China through e-commerce and delivery services. Aldi Süd does not give sales figures in China. However, according to the report, market research firm WGSN estimates that the discounter should generate sales of 80 million US dollars (78.3 million euros) from its stores in China this year.
