24 June 2021
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
Aldi opens new store on former Douglas cinema site (between Petrol Station and McDonalds)
Aldi’s nationwide expansion continued this morning with the opening of a new flagship store in Douglas, County Cork creating 27 permanent jobs, with 23 staff members recruited from the local area.
The store was officially opened today by Munster Rugby star, Billy Holland who cut the ribbon with the new Douglas Store Manager Goren Kierse.
Located on the old cinema site, the new store will be Aldi’s 24th store to open in County Cork. Aldi now operates 146 stores across the country, in addition to its Mitchelstown distribution centre, which services Aldi’s stores throughout Munster and Connacht.
Aldi will be offering a wide range of special opening offers at the new Douglas store including a Bedside Crib for just €39.99 (reduced from €88.52) and a LED Work Light with Stand for just €9.99 (reduced from €63.93). There are lots more Specialbuys too – all at amazing prices!
Pictured are Billy Holland with local staff from Douglas Patricia Reynolds, Goren Kierse, Gerry McGeehan and Agnieszka Cieslak.
Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
Pictured are the Aldi Douglas store staff ahead of welcoming their first customer.
Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
Pictured are Billy Holland, Deputy Lord Mayor Mary Rose Desmond and Senator Jerry Buttimer.
Pic Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
New Store Design
Featuring Aldi’s exciting award-winning Project Fresh layout and design, the new store boasts a large shop floor spanning 1,000m², wide aisles and hi-spec fixtures and fittings. There are also 117 free car parking spaces available for customers along with five bicycle rack stands.
Sustainability is ingrained in the design of the new Douglas store, which will be powered by 52 Photovoltaic solar panels located on the roof along with 100% green electricity. In addition, Douglas shoppers will also benefit from six electric vehicle-charging points at the new store.
Speaking at the store opening, Goren Kierse, Aldi Douglas Store Manager said; “Our new Aldi store in Douglas is fantastic news for people in the locality! The spacious design means it is easier for customers to pick up what they need, and our aim is to ensure every customer has an enjoyable shop. From all the staff here at the new Douglas store, we hope everyone has a chance to pop in and avail of our great savings and pick up some of our award-winning products at unbeatable prices!”
Speaking today at the new store opening, Munster Rugby star Billy Holland said; “It’s great to see Aldi opening its new flagship store in Douglas today. Aldi is very supportive of local communities, particularly through its fantastic Aldi Play Rugby initiative, which aims to get as many children as possible around Ireland involved in playing rugby. I would also like to thank Aldi for its donation of €1,000 to the CUH (Cork University Hospital) Children’s Charity to help promote the great work the charity does.”
Aldi’s investment in County Cork
To date, Aldi has made a capital investment of over €220 million in County Cork. Aldi is Ireland’s best paying supermarket and currently employs 1,000 full time staff across the county, spending €30 million on wages annually. Aldi is seeking to recruit 120 new employees for its County Cork stores this year.
Recently, planning applications have been submitted for new stores in Clonakilty, due to open in late 2022, and on Skehard Road, Blackrock, planned to open in 2024. Together, the stores will create 50 new permanent jobs when open and an additional 130 jobs will be created during the construction phases.
Community Support
As part of the store opening, Aldi has donated six Aldi Play Rugby kits and a signed framed Irish jersey to St Luke NS Douglas. Currently, Aldi’s stores across County Cork are deeply involved with their local communities. To date, the stores have donated over 311,000 meals to local charities through FoodCloud, saving the charities more than €391,000. Each store is also part of Aldi’s Community Grants network, with Cork Animal Care Society, Féileacáin and St. Joseph’s Foundation, Charleville some of the local charities that have availed of the €500 bursary grant in recent years.
In addition to supporting local charities, Aldi’s national tree planting initiative will also involve the Douglas team. More than 37,000 trees have recently been planted at Killaclug, County Cork. Aldi is the first retailer in Ireland to commit to planting 1 million native Irish woodland trees by 2025, working together with Green Belt. As part of this, Aldi will be planting almost 100,000 trees across County Cork.
Supplier Support
Aldi supports a wide variety of food and drink producers across County Cork and spent €68.5 million with its Cork producers in 2020. Aldi is committed to growing its Irish supply base and increasing the number of locally produced Irish products available at its stores. Aldi currently partners with 35 food and drink producers across County Cork.
Aldi has invested more than €3,000,000 in its Grow with Aldi supplier development programme since 2018, which offers up-and-coming artisan Irish food and drink producers the chance to have their products listed in Aldi’s 146 stores.
In March 2020, Aldi reduced its payment terms for all suppliers that transact up to €1 million worth of business annually. Payments are processed and paid within five working days.
The new Aldi Douglas store opening hours are:
- Mon to Fri: 09:00 – 22:00
- Sat to Sun: 09:00 – 21:00
