Aldi landed three wins at the Retail Industry Awards 2022 held in London this week.
The retailer, which last week was confirmed as the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket, beat Lidl, Tesco and M&S to be named ‘Supermarket of the Year’. The retailer was commended for its environmental credentials, digital innovations and “fantastic” support for British suppliers, as well as value. One judge pointed out “everyone’s trying to price match with them.”
Other comments from judges included: “They are really pushing forward in a huge number of directions.” And “they have been listening to customers and adapting. They are innovative in responding to new trends, and they have clearly been attracting new customers in a very competitive market.”
Aldi was also crowned ‘Chilled Retailer of the Year’ at the awards, as well as ‘Drinks Retailer of the Year’ for the fourth consecutive year.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, commented: “Shoppers are prioritising value like never before. We’ve seen them voting with their feet by choosing Aldi over full price traditional supermarkets. Now, it’s great to see the industry recognising this too. The Retail Industry Awards acknowledges the best of the best, and we are thrilled to see Aldi’s exceptional quality and value rewarded.”
She added: “To be named ‘Drinks Retailer of the Year’ for the fourth-year running is incredible. The win is testament to our Buying Team, along with our fabulous suppliers, who put care and effort into ensuring that every beer, wine and spirit on Aldi’s shelves is of the highest quality.”
The panel was said to be particularly impressed with the discounter’s ability to pass on its low operating costs to customers in the form of low prices. The awarding body stated that Aldi stood out for its “impressive development of new products and innovative thinking around changing habits”, which had resulted in some impressive numbers, including being one of the fastest-growing spirits retailers.
The news comes after Aldi was crowned Multiple Fruit & Veg Retailer of the Year at the FPC Fresh Awards last week.
NAM Implications:
- Keep in mind that Aldi were that cheap downmarket retailer that were never going to succeed…
- …when they entered sophisticated UK retail 30 years ago.
