What do Cumbernauld, Scotland; Grimsby, England; and Dinbych all have in common? As of today, their very own Aldi supermarket, that's what.
Indeed, the Dinbych discount quarter took a significant step forward today, with the opening of both Aldi's *and* Peacock's. Together with Homebargains and Lidl's, we have the coalescence of discount sector traders in one location and this is bound to have an impact on Rhuthun/Ruthin (not to mention Dinbych). At first flush, this perhaps won't be to the same extent as under the former Cathco Tesco Dinbych plans with its dozen-and-a-half stores. Even if they've lost their sparkle, discounters, however, are still the flavour of the month... and Rhuthun has none of them, bar a substandard B & M (substandard when compared to that Dinbych cathedral of retail capitalism, the huge Homebargains). There's certainly no discount grocery supermarket hereabouts. Dinbych's the nearest.
And, in terms of everyday fashions, it's easy to see that Dinbych's Peacock's will be a major pull. Such clothes shops as Rhuthun still has—it's a faded remnant of a once strong segment—are all high-end. You might argue that those of us who need regular clothes at regular prices will go elsewhere, anyway, but the combination of Peacock's, Homebargains and Aldi/Lidl at such close quarters—within the 15 minute barrier—may be toxic for Rhuthun. And that's not to mention Poundworld.
And, what's happened to Poundworld Dinbych? Squeezed between Aldi and Peracok's, it's empty. There were rumours that it'd pulled out but they're still understood to be interested and coming. Maybe they will miss the pre-Christmas frenzy and concentrate instead on Easter 2018.
And there are three units on the front of the development ready for tenants but not fitted out. Two are earmarked for a pet showroom with veterinary practice and the other is supposedly for Barnardo's. I guess that these could easily turn up at any time.
One other way to look at all this is, how many discounters can the area actually support? Money's tight but it can still only go so far. We have B & M in Rhuthun plus the group now quartered at Dinbych.
Aldi's First Day
There were more black Audi motor cars parked around the periphery of Aldi this morning than in a used car lot. There were at least 12. All but two had disappeared by lunch and it was down to one only at teatime. Methinks Aldi must be doing very nicely if it can give its managers such a luxury. Such extravagance must be paid for, though, and perhaps its those on the shop floor doing it. There was a damning BBC Panorama programme on Aldi workers' conditions. The Audis, predictably German, were all west midlands (of England) registered and that wasn't surprising, as Aldi UK is headquartered in Warwickshire.
The opening was at 8.02 a.m. this morning with some sort of minor sporting celeb. I don't know how much Aldi was paying him but he hadn't really attracted anyone and he said even less. In spite of free publicity across the front page of yesterday's Free Press, there were fewer than 150 there present (even though this was about 150 more than during the Homebargains' official opening). It helps if you sponsor a Dinbych children's football club: that way, you can at least guarantee 22 parents. The razzmatazz including a bloke with a microphone whipping up the masses to the tune of a wah-wah-wah musical backdrop but he didn't last long.
By lunchtime, the new Aldi store was very busy (though nowhere near as packed as was Homebargains on its first day). Aldi had all but one checkout open (no self-service machines, though). The number in Lidl's was down, of course it was, but only marginally. There was the usual one checkout in operation, with a lengthy queue. At Morrsion's, in spite of a bouncy castle (there were no children on a school day... d'oh) and even more blaring music, the numbers at Morrison's were definitely fewer. I'd say numbers were down by about half.
As for the size of the stores, Aldi's weighs in at 18,600 sq ft. As such, the floorspace is almost identical to Lidl's. Homebargains, on the other hand, comes in at least 2 ½ times bigger.
Both Lidl and Aldi have a limited product range, with one scoring over the other in some areas and vice versa along other aisles. Here's an example: Aldi had three variants of Colgate. Lidl had two plus Aquafresh and three varieties of own-brand Dentalux. Go to Homebargains, though, and there was a choice of *50* types including 11 separate Colgate options.
Finally, let's not forget Peacock's. That stays open till 8.00 p.m. during the working week. Numbers parked at and within the store were far, far fewer but there was still some encouraging numbers.
This truck has been doing various tours of Dinbych, including outside Morrison's. Morrison's were reported to have countered with the offer of fresh cream cakes distributed outside Aldi's
And, in terms of everyday fashions, it's easy to see that Dinbych's Peacock's will be a major pull. Such clothes shops as Rhuthun still has—it's a faded remnant of a once strong segment—are all high-end. You might argue that those of us who need regular clothes at regular prices will go elsewhere, anyway, but the combination of Peacock's, Homebargains and Aldi/Lidl at such close quarters—within the 15 minute barrier—may be toxic for Rhuthun. And that's not to mention Poundworld.
And there are three units on the front of the development ready for tenants but not fitted out. Two are earmarked for a pet showroom with veterinary practice and the other is supposedly for Barnardo's. I guess that these could easily turn up at any time.
One other way to look at all this is, how many discounters can the area actually support? Money's tight but it can still only go so far. We have B & M in Rhuthun plus the group now quartered at Dinbych.
Aldi's First Day
At 7.50 Aldi could muster no more than 30 or so...
The opening was at 8.02 a.m. this morning with some sort of minor sporting celeb. I don't know how much Aldi was paying him but he hadn't really attracted anyone and he said even less. In spite of free publicity across the front page of yesterday's Free Press, there were fewer than 150 there present (even though this was about 150 more than during the Homebargains' official opening). It helps if you sponsor a Dinbych children's football club: that way, you can at least guarantee 22 parents. The razzmatazz including a bloke with a microphone whipping up the masses to the tune of a wah-wah-wah musical backdrop but he didn't last long.
... but the situation had improved by opening time, even if the queue was a straggle
By lunchtime, the new Aldi store was very busy (though nowhere near as packed as was Homebargains on its first day). Aldi had all but one checkout open (no self-service machines, though). The number in Lidl's was down, of course it was, but only marginally. There was the usual one checkout in operation, with a lengthy queue. At Morrsion's, in spite of a bouncy castle (there were no children on a school day... d'oh) and even more blaring music, the numbers at Morrison's were definitely fewer. I'd say numbers were down by about half.
Lidl's opens from 8.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. whereas Aldi's is 8.00 to 10.00
As for the size of the stores, Aldi's weighs in at 18,600 sq ft. As such, the floorspace is almost identical to Lidl's. Homebargains, on the other hand, comes in at least 2 ½ times bigger.
On sale in Aldi... why the North Wales Weekly News, though? Has no one told Warwickshire? Time was when major shop openings would see whole-page adverts or wraparounds but not any longer. The Free Press proclaiming page 1 on Aldi's opening was also for sale in Lidl's
Both Lidl and Aldi have a limited product range, with one scoring over the other in some areas and vice versa along other aisles. Here's an example: Aldi had three variants of Colgate. Lidl had two plus Aquafresh and three varieties of own-brand Dentalux. Go to Homebargains, though, and there was a choice of *50* types including 11 separate Colgate options.
