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Aldi attracts ever more British shoppers

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Aldi attracts ever more British shoppers
Photo: DPA

British shoppers are shunning more expensive supermarkets in favour of German discount chain Aldi, figures released on Monday suggested, with profits climbing by 124 percent.

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Aldi now has nearly 500 branches across the UK, and in 2012 upped its turnover by 41 percent, to £3.9 billion. Pre-tax profit climbed by 124 percent to £157.9 million.

Both Aldi and its rival fellow German rival Lidl have been experiencing success in the UK for several years and seem to be performing better than the country's homegrown supermarkets.

“We have a very simple pricing strategy that the consumer understands,” Aldi manager Matthew Barnes told the BBC, which published the figures. “We're not trying to confuse with our special deals,” he added.

Market experts found that the “Specially Selected” line had been doing particularly well, with a 40 percent increase in sales.

The profit increase is thought to be linked to the difficult economic situation in the UK over the past few years with shoppers looking for cheaper alternatives as living costs rise. Aldi has been working to improve its image abroad and hopes to open 30 more shops there before the end of the year.

DPA/The Local/jcw

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