Shopping Carts at Dawn! Aldi Prices Plummet

Today, Aldi has announced major, long-term price cuts at stores nationwide. The reductions will be be implemented on over 230 items, representing more than 25 per cent of Aldi’s entire range. They will begin today and will be fully in place by next Monday. The cuts include:

• Fresh Irish Free Range Whole Chicken (1.5kg) down from €6.99 to €5.99
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (750ml) down from €3.99 to €3.19
• Smoked Irish Back Bacon (400g) – down from €3.45 to €2.99
• Irish Plain/ Self Raising Flour (2kg) – down from €1.19 to 72c
• Fresh Bananas  (1kg) – down from €1.49 to 99c
• Dishwasher Tablets (40s) – down from €4.29 to €3.05
• Complete Cat Food (2kg) – down from €3.60 to €2.79
• Comfy Up Pants (20 pack) – down from €6.19 to €5.25

While Tesco squeeze Irish suppliers, Aldi appear to be doing the opposite. In a statement, the company says:

Well over 40% of all grocery sales at Aldi are on products bought from Irish suppliers, producers and manufacturers and… this would grow further in the coming months. All our fresh meats, fresh poultry, eggs, bread, soft drinks, flour, and many of our teas, coffees, biscuits and snacks come from leading Irish suppliers, who also make many of the best known brands in the country.

I suspect that one of the reasons why Aldi can continue to use Irish suppliers while Tesco have cut them out is that, overall, Aldi’s product range is smaller which enables it to have lower costs. Conversely, one of the reasons why some people choose Tesco is precisely because it has – or had – a larger range.

So, have Aldi stolen a march on Tesco? With Aldi trumpeting their use of Irish suppliers, will Tesco’s decision to reduce shelf space for Irish suppliers/ producers backfire?