A top Aldi executive has told Sky News that a surge in demand for its offering during the cost of living crisis to date has prompted a new ambition for 500 more UK stores.

Giles Hurley, the company’s UK and Ireland CEO, said it had seen 1.1 million more customers through its doors over the past 12 months as its aggressive expansion to date and pressure on household budgets saw established rivals come under pressure.

He was speaking to Business Live with Ian King about its plans for a new long term target of 1,500 stores, building on its earlier target of 1,200 sites by 2025.

Aldi’s 1,000th store opened its doors at Woking in Surrey on Thursday.

Aldi is currently the country’s fourth largest supermarket chain after it overtook Morrisons by market share a year ago.

It now employs 40,000 people.

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The German discounter plans to open another 20 new stores before the end of the year, as part of a £1.3bn two-year investment plan.

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Its main barrier to new store openings is finding suitable sites as the company, and fierce rival Lidl, continue to muscle in on the power of chains including the UK’s largest retailer, Tesco.

The discounters’ appeal has grown during the cost of living crisis and food inflation remains in double-digits.

The stampede for value-focused grocery shopping has forced others to compete more aggressively on price.

Tesco and Sainsbury’s both have offerings that match Aldi prices on key products and have loyalty schemes, which are hitting profits, in a bid to keep shoppers.

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Mr Hurley said of his company’s progress: “It’s the demand which, i guess, is giving us the confidence to continue to scale and expand the business.

“What we recognise most of all is that there are communities across the UK who continue to pay high prices for their groceries because they only have access to a traditional full-price supermarket or their more expensive convenience arm.

“We’ve long had the view at Aldi that healthy, affordable food is a right not a privilege.”

He added that he was “optimistic” that Aldi could continue to cut prices on some essential items in the run-up to Christmas, saying price pressures had been easing overall for the past five months.

“I think when it comes to the longer term outlook it’s a bit more difficult to assess”, he said citing the many factors that had influenced costs in the grocery sector over the past two years.

Watch the full interview on Business Live with Ian King, at 1130am, on Sky News

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