LONDON – Aldi is looking
to grab a slice of the convenience store pie in the United Kingdom with the
opening of a smaller store in North London, The Grocer reports. The new format
measures a mere 7,000 square feet, a marked difference from the 10,000 square
feet or larger stores the supermarket chain usually operates.
In a format ruled by
Sainsbury’s and Tesco, Aldi is coming to the convenience store market a bit
late to the game. Aldi said it would focus on high traffic areas in prominent
locations for its smaller footprint stores. The new store will have longer
hours than the typical Aldi locations, staying open from 7 am to 10 pm.
Overall, convenience
stores are giving other retailers a run for their money when it comes to wine
sales. New data from Nielsen shows that convenience store wine sales soared 3.4%
to £1.6 billion.
“The convenience format is
the fastest-growing part of the off- trade. It’s growing because of the way
people shop. In this economic climate top-up shops are increasingly frequent,”
said Shaun Heyes, customer marketing head for Treasury Wine Estates, which
commissioned the study. “Rather than just doing one big shop at the start of
the week, people do a smaller shop and top it up throughout the week.”