Aldi confirms it plans to open sixth store in Cov this year
ALDI has revealed it does expect to open its sixth store in Coventry later this year.
The news came as the supermarket revealed details of its wider investment plans for the Midlands.
The sixth store in Coventry is almost certainly one on the Alvis Retail Park not far from the city centre, though the investment announcement does not specifically name it.
However, Aldi has already advertised for a number of jobs at the Alvis Retail Park store and is offering people the chance to register their interest for other roles.
An Aldi spokesman has told us there is no specific update on the Alvis Retail Park store at present.
Aldi recently announced plans to invest more than £19m in new and upgraded stores across the West Midlands this year, and create more than 500 jobs.
It confirmed that it expects to open four new stores - located in Coventry, Tamworth, Biddulph and Birmingham - and refurbish four existing ones including stores in Burton on Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester before the end of the year.
The investment is part of the supermarket’s long-term target to reach 1,200 stores in the UK by 2025. On average, Aldi is set to open more than one store a week this year.
Giles Hurley, chief executive officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “We have been investing in Britain for more than 30 years now, but we know that there are still areas that either don’t have an Aldi at all, or that need another store to meet customer demand.
“With shoppers increasingly looking to make sure they get unbeatable prices on their weekly shop without compromising on quality, our stores are becoming ever more popular.”
Mr Hurley added: “This investment in Aldi stores over the course of this year will help make the UK’S lowest-priced supermarket more accessible to even more people, and bring us closer to our longterm goal of having 1,200 stores across the UK by 2025.”
Last summer, Aldi announced it was looking for 18 new store locations in West Midlands - including in Birmingham, Dudley, and Wolverhampton - as part of its longerterm expansion plans.in November last year Aldi confirmed it was on course to open its sixth store in Coventry at the Alvis Retail Park.
The plans related to the unit formerly occupied by Currys PC
World, at the south eastern end of the retail park closest to the city centre. There had been some uncertainty over the future of the project after it was no longer listed among forthcoming Aldi store openings. The opening has certainly been delayed. In May 2020 the proposed Alvis Retail Park store was listed on the Aldi website - on a page entitled ‘Coming soon to a town near you! New stores and fresh career opportunities.’
It said the new store was scheduled to open in November 2020.
That month a spokesman for the budget supermarket chain told us that Aldi remained committed to the project and that it was still going through the planning process.