Aldi: new thunder down under

 "Wherever there is a Coles or Woolies there is a place for Aldi," said Aldi Australia managing director Michael Kloeters. Kloeters said Aldi would be interested in taking over any Bi-Lo stores Wesfarmers deems surplus to requirements, although with Aldi's smaller product range requiring only about one-third the space of a regular supermarket the company would only be interested in leasehold sites that would allow it to convert the space into smaller lots.

Wesfarmers has yet to reveal its plans for Bi-Lo, which was midway through a disastrous Coles rebranding when the company was put up for sale, halting the conversion process with 70 out of 212 stores still carrying the Bi-Lo banner.

Analysts have identified Aldi as a key beneficiary of the Bi-Lo/Coles conversion. The Aldi group had seen a huge uplift in shopper numbers following the release of a Choice survey last month which showed a basket of 28 supermarket items bought at Aldi cost less than if they had been purchased at either Coles or Woolworth's.

In a sign of its commitment to growth in the Australian market, Aldi is also building new distribution centres in Sydney and Melbourne - the biggest warehouses in any part of their global operation, as well as staff training centres in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales (NSW).