The German supermarket Aldi plans to invest €350 million opening at least 35 new stores in Ireland over the next three years in a move it says will create 650 jobs.
The discount retailer, which now sources some 40 per cent of its stock from the Irish market, has also announced plans to open a second distribution centre in Mitchelstown, Co Cork to supply its shops in the south.
Aldi opened its first Irish store in 1999 and now has 59 outlets in Ireland. It plans to open another 17 by the end of 2009, with two more, in Dungloe and Carrigtowhil, opening later this month.
It claims to have 4.5 per cent of the Irish grocery market and says it has seen a 20 per cent increase in sales over the last year.
The store has benefitted from a number of surveys carried out on behalf of the National Consumer Agency which have shown that both it and Lidl are significantly cheaper than other supermarket chains operating in the state.
The surveys, which indicated that consumers could save up to 30 per cent by shopping in one or other of the discount stores, led to a significant shift in many consumer's shopping habits, the NCA has said.
In recent months, as the Republic entered a recession for the first time in more than 15 years, the store has done particuarly well with the numbers of customers up 25 per cent in October 2008 compared with the same period last year.
17 stores will open by the end of next year with management focusing on new developments in Drogheda, Co Meath, Wexford town, Dublin and Mallow, Co Cork.
The managing director of Aldi UK and Ireland Paul Foley new customers were "trying Aldi because they're more conscious of seeking out value for money". He said Aldi customers could expect to spend €60 less on a trolley of goods which would cost €200 elsewhere.
Some 490 jobs will be created in the stores while 160 people will be employed in the new distribution centre to support Aldi's expansion in the south of the country. Construction will start next March.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Mary Coughlan, welcomed the announcement describing it as a a "significant benefit to a number of local economies".
She said the entry of the discounters into the Irish retail sector had brought significant changes to the retail grocery sector "by contributing to greater competition resulting in significant benefits to the Irish consumer".
