Prosecco and roast beef helps Aldi post record Christmas sales figures

Discount supermarket Aldi said strong sales of Prosecco and roast joints helped it post its strongest Christmas sales.

The German-owned chain total revenues for December lifted 15% compared to a year ago, lifted by sales of over two million bottles of the Italian sparkling wine, a rate of almost 69,000 bottles per day.

The German-owned chain, which launched in the UK in 1990, added that its Specially Selected range of premium products, which Aldi says competes with the likes of Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose jumped by 27% over the period. This range comprises 30-day-aged roasting beef joint and Argentinian Malbec wine.

Aldi also rejected claims by a City analyst over the weekend that same store sales at the chain – a key measure of revenues at shops open for more than a year – have stalled.

Clive Black, head of research at the stockbroker Shore Capital, estimated that sales at Aldi's existing shops were flat over Christmas, as discounters become victims of their popularity.

Black blamed "overtrading" at discounters, such as Aldi and Lidl, which he said were often too busy and understaffed, and looked "as if they've been robbed by a load of school kids".

Aldi does not disclose its same store sales figure, but said it was "positive" over Christmas. It added that Shore Capital's claims "bear no relation to reality".

Aldi UK and Ireland chief executive Matthew Barnes added: "We start 2017 in confident mood and have just launched a new marketing campaign to communicate our price leadership to our customers. We have 70 new Aldi supermarkets opening across the UK this year and our 700<sup>th store is due to open in February."

Barnes said the group was "committed to meeting the strong demand across the country for new Aldi stores."

Aldi, along with fellow German discounter Lidl, has won UK market share from bigger rivals Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons but saw slower sales growth last year.