Watch out ALDI! German supermarket Kaufland prepares to hit AU shores
There’s a new competitor setting its sights on the Australian supermarket industry, and its name is Kaufland.
With 18 supermarkets in the pipeline, it’s clear that Kaufland is preparing itself to be a fierce competitor.
The Victorian Government approved another two stores on Thursday, which brings the total Kaufland stores in the area up to five. There’s also a distribution centre that’s being approved at Mickleham, which is near Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport.
Kaufland also has two stores approved in South Australia and is awaiting approvals on one store each in Toowoomba, Queensland and Adelaide.
In a statement, Kaufland said that its total planned investment into Victoria was more than $500 million.
“With five approved stores, as well as the additional nine sites under review, we are committed to our long-term, sustainable growth across Victoria,” managing director Julia Kern said.
“We look forward to creating thousands of jobs and creating opportunities for local businesses.”
A company spokesperson told The New Daily that the stores would be Kaufland’s standard footprint of about 4000 square metres, with the sites expected to follow the model of its German one-stop-shop operations, selling everything from groceries to electrical appliances.
Earlier reports have speculated that the Australian stores would carry about 30,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs).
This number is massive compared to a typical stock holding of Coles and Woolworths of about 22,000 SKUs and ALDI carry about 1350 SKUs.