German retailer Aldi may be opening up to 1000 stores in Australia, after initially underplayed its ambitions. Coriolis Research's managing director, Tim Morris, commenting on Aldi said: "If they say something to the press, you can probably double it," he said. "If they are talking about 400 to 500 stores they are probably thinking 1000 stores."

Since entering the Australian market eight years ago, Aldi has opened 167 stores, claiming about 2.5% of the grocery sector. If Aldi reached the predicted 1000-store target, that would give the company about 15% of the grocery market.

Morgan Stanley's retail analyst, Richard Barwick, said that after "causing a lot of concern" when it arrived, Aldi was now "flying under the radar", despite an aggressive rollout strategy. Barwick also commented that  the existing market giants, Coles and Woolworths, were running out of opportunities to buy up smaller rivals, but there was still scope for new entrants to break into the retailing landscape.