Hundreds of jobs as Aldi to open six new Scots stores

AROUND 200 jobs are to be created at six new Aldi stores and a new chill facility in Scotland, the company has announced.

The retailer, which is headquartered in Germany, has also signalled further expansion across Scotland.

Richard Holloway, the firm’s managing director in Scotland, hailed the move as “an exciting time for Aldi as we look ahead to 2020 and plan for the next 25 years in Scotland”.

He said: “Our new state-ofthe-art storage and chill facility will be fully operational by the end of April, which will aid our expansion across Scotland while allowing us to increase the range of Scottish products available on our shelves.”

Its new stores will be at Gallowgate, in Parkhead, and Crown Street, in Glasgow; Commercial Street, in Edinburgh; Rigg Street, Stewarton; Houstoun Road, Livingston; and Gateside Commercial Park, in Haddington.

The Bathgate chill facilities include the construction of a 4,000sq m freezer and a 13,000sq m chiller to help support the growth of its Scottish product range, Aldi said.

The store openings and new chill facility will take the total number of staff employed by the retailer in Scotland to 2,800 by the end of 2020.

Aldi said it will also invest in store upgrades offering customers “an enhanced shopping experience” along with its Project Fresh programme.

Mr Holloway added: “We’re proud to have reached our ambition to stock 450 Scottish products significantly ahead of our target of the end of 2020, and we will continue to work in partnership with our local suppliers to increase this to over 500 locally-sourced products in the next two years.

“With six new stores planned for next year and a further six being refreshed and upgraded, we’re looking forward to serving even more local communities and expanding our market share even further.”