Aldi to create 200 jobs and open six new Scottish stores

Aldi has revealed plans to open a further six Scottish stores in 2020 as it creates up to 200 jobs.

Aldi will open six new stores in Scotland this year. Picture: Michael Gillen

Two of the new stores will be in Glasgow, on Crown Street in the Gorbals and Gallowgate in Parkhead, with one set to open shortly on Commercial Street in Edinburgh.

The others will be based on Rigg Street in Stewarton, Houstoun Road in Livingston, and Gateside Commercial Park in Haddington.

The latest announcement comes as the discount supermarket also revealed that its new £25 million storage and chill facility in Bathgate is set to be fully operational by the end of April.

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Aldi opening its first store in Scotland. Picture: Simon Hadley

It is expecting to create an estimated 200 jobs from the Bathgate facility and six new outlets combined, which would take the total number of staff employed by Aldi in Scotland to around 2,800 by the end of 2020.

The German retailer, which has 840 branches across the UK, posted an 11 per cent surge in annual sales to £11.3 billion in September.

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of Aldi opening its first store in Scotland.

Richard Holloway, regional managing director for Scotland, said: "This is an exciting time for Aldi as we look ahead to 2020 and plan for the next 25 years in Scotland.

"Our new state-of-the-art storage and chill facility will be fully operational by the end of April, which will aid our expansion across Scotland while allowing us to increase the range of Scottish products available on our shelves.

"For several years Aldi has led the way with local sourcing, and we see Scotland as a key area of growth for the business."