Two new Poole Aldi stores will create 60 new jobs

The German company is looking to invest more than £7million in new stores across Dorset.

Last summer Aldi announced it was looking for new store locations in 14 Dorset towns, including Bournemouth, Dorchester and Weymouth.

The company hopes the two Poole stores will open later this year at Fleets Lane, Poole, and Blandford Road North, Upton, Poole.

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer at Aldi UK and Ireland, said: "We have been investing in Britain for more than 30 years now, but we know that there are still areas that either don’t have an Aldi at all, or that need another store to meet customer demand.

“With shoppers increasingly looking to make sure they get unbeatable prices on their weekly shop without compromising on quality, our stores are becoming ever more popular.

“This investment in Aldi stores over the course of this year will help make the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket more accessible to even more people, and bring us closer to our long-term goal of having 1,200 stores across the UK by 2025.”

The supermarket chain is set to open more than one new store a week in the UK this year.

A spokesman for Aldi said the company had also increased its minimum hourly rates, paying a minimum hourly rate of £9.55 nationally, up from £9.40.

They added: "The new rates of pay are also boosted by the fact Aldi is still one of the only UK supermarkets to pay for breaks taken during shifts, which means Aldi colleagues remain the best-paid in the sector.

"The supermarket, which opened a new store in Plympton during 2020, has also announced plans to increase the amount of food and drink it buys from British suppliers by £3.5bn a year by 2025, as it continues its rapid expansion across the UK.

"Aldi is also investing £500m in new and upgraded stores, distribution centres and its supply chain in 2021, which will create over 4,000 jobs as well as new opportunities for British food and drink producers."