Rival discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl both announced on Thursday that they have opened new stores in time for the Christmas peak.

Aldi is opening four new stores located at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol, Hetton-le-Hole in Tyne and Wear, Ashton-in-Makerfield in Greater Manchester, and Macduff in Banffshire.

Lidl said it has opened six “state-of-the-art” stores as part of a multi-million-pound investment in the gear up to Christmas, with four openings in Shinfield, Bovey Tracey, Downham Market, and Stirchley. The retailer has also opened a new store in Connah's Quay which replaces an old one in the town and reopened its Chessington store after a full reburbishment and extension.

The new store openings come as both supermarkets continue to roll out their rapid expansion plans.

Aldi and Lidl have opened a number of new stores in recent months, with Aldi launching in Sedgley in the West Midlands, Horsham in West Sussex and Muswell Hill in London, and Lidl opening four new stores last month in Bristol, Hemel Hempstead, Ipswich, and Hoxton.

Aldi's expansion plans target a total of 1,500 stores across the UK, with the company having investing £800 million in expanding its UK footprint in 2024.

“Our new store openings are a testament to our ongoing investment in the UK, and we’re thrilled to bring Aldi’s unbeatable prices to even more communities just in time for Christmas," said Richard Thornton, communications director, Aldi UK. “To be opening four new stores in one day is an outstanding effort from the team and shows just how serious we are about bringing more stores to communities up and down the country.”

Lidl plans to open a further eight new stores at the start of next year, followed by 40 more over the coming 12 months.

Richard Taylor, chief development officer at Lidl GB, said: “As we head into December, opening six stores in a single day highlights the incredible momentum behind our expansion in our 30th year. This milestone reflects our unwavering commitment to delivering affordable, high-quality products to more households across the country, especially at a time of year when value matters most. Our teams are relentlessly pursuing expansion opportunities and, with every store we open, we’re taking another step towards making this vision a reality.”

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