Discount giant Aldi names Lymington, Ringwood and Totton for its store site hit list

DISCOUNT supermarket giant Aldi has announced it is looking for land at three local towns as it seeks to build 100 new UK stores.

The chain is on the lookout for sites big enough to accommodate a 20,000sq ft store and around 100 parking spaces, and has named Lymington, Ringwood and Totton as areas it is interested in.

As reported in the A&T, Aldi was given permission in January to build a supermarket in New Milton on Caird Avenue.

It already operates 920 stores across the UK, including at the Meteor Retail Park in Christchurch, but is seeking to invest £1.3bn by 2023 in a bid to further grow its retail estate.

It comes amid growing competition from other similar budget firms, such as Lidl, which already has a high presence locally.

Richard Thornton, Aldi UK communications director, said: "We’re continuing to gain even more customers – with over 60% of UK households shopping with Aldi in the last year.

"Our focus is on expanding our store estate, making sure Aldi is accessible to as many of these new shoppers across the country as possible.

"Looking ahead, we are excited to provide millions of new customers with access to Aldi’s award-winning quality and unbeatable value as we create even more places and more ways to shop with us."

The announcement revealed Aldi is pushing ahead with plans to open an average of one new store a week. On its target list are Hampshire hotspots that are freehold town-centre or edge-of-centre sites suitable for property development.

Other areas on the list include Aldershot, Eastleigh, Farnborough, Winchester and over the county border into Bournemouth in Dorset.

Aldi has said it will also be investing in the development of new and expanded distribution centres as part of its plan for the next two years.