Page 20 - IWSCReport2017

SUPERMARKET SPIRITS BUYER
OF THE YEAR:
ALDI
Aldi had a particularly successful year in 2017. In the 12 months, to December 2016, the retailer saw total sales increase by 13.5% to £8.7 billion, while spirits sales increased by 13.3%. Boosted by new additions to its own-label range and a focus on gin, Aldi’s efforts to introduce greater innovation to its spirits portfolio were rewarded with the IWSC naming it Supermarket Spirits Buyer of the Year.
In particular, the retailer received recognition for its Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin, which retails at just £10 and won a Gold medal in this year’s competition. Off the back of its success with the Oliver Cromwell brand, the retailer added two new gins to its range in October, and confirmed plans to release a further five expressions in November. These new additions include the Oliver Cromwell 1599 sloe gin, Victoria Pink Gin and Needle Blackforest Gin from Germany. Its Glen Marnoch range of own-label whiskies also scored highly, taking home a clutch of silver medals, as did its Baroque Brandy, Bluegrass Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Chavalier Cognac.
“With high scores over an extensive range of spirits styles, both traditional and innovative, Aldi’s buying team has shown
‘Aldi’s buying team has shown excellent skills at sourcing high quality products in an ever competitive market’
excellent skills at sourcing high quality products in an ever competitive market,” IWSC judges said of its success.
This year, Aldi also expanded its reach into the craft spirits sector with the signing of a £1.1m million deal with craft distillery Eden Mill, based in Guardbridge near St Andrews, Scotland, to supply its stores with a range a bespoke gins and pre-mixed cocktails. Three varieties of Eden Mill’s Botanical Project range will be available to Aldi shoppers including limited release flavoured craft gins in Blueberry & Vanilla and Chilli & Ginger, as well as its Traditional Batch Gin. This range will run in-store alongside the distillery’s Mixology Project – a range of ready-to-pour cocktails made with Eden Mill’s small-batch gins, available in Basil Smash, Citrus Fizz or Berry Bramble variations.
Demonstrating further innovation in the
Aldi’s spirits buying director Dan Hobson
gin category, and the crossing over of categories, Aldi has also announced the imminent arrival of sloe gin-flavoured mince pies, which will go on sale in November ahead of the festive season.
2017 also marked the opening of Aldi’s first store in the US, its first online store in China, and it becoming the UK’s fifth- largest retailer, overtaking The Co-Op. Over the 12-week period to 29 January 2017, the retailer recorded a 2.4% year-on- year sales boost, which increased its share of the UK grocery market to 6.2%, pushing past The Coop’s 6% share. As of October, the retailer held a 6.8% share, maintaining its fifth place position.
Not content to rest on its laurels, the retailer has also announced plans invest £459m to open a further 70 stores in the UK this year, which will take its total number of stores to just shy of 800. db
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