Aldi UK's premium range drives 3% rise in Christmas sales

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By James Davey

LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The UK arm of German discounter Aldi said it rang up festive sales of 1.65 billion pounds ($2.22 billion) in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, up 3% from a year earlier, boosted by strong demand for its premium own-label range.

Aldi UK, Britain's fourth-largest supermarket after market leader Tesco TSCO.L, Sainsbury's SBRY.L and Asda, said on Monday its sales in the week to Christmas Eve rose more than 5% year-on-year.

Investors are looking for evidence of how consumers spent over the key Christmas period, and several retailer trading updates are due to be published over the next three weeks. While inflation eased in November, consumer confidence remains subdued.

BEST-EVER CHRISTMAS, PARTLY DUE TO NEW STORE OPENINGS

Aldi UK recorded its best-ever Christmas, partly due to new store openings and inflation. Analysts said like-for-like sales growth on a volume basis was likely negative.

Last week, rival discounter Lidl GB reported a stronger performance with its sales up 10% over the same four-week period.

Aldi UK said sales of its "Specially Selected" premium range surged 12% over the four weeks, with popular products including wagyu fat roast potatoes, double-wrapped pigs in blankets and white chocolate ganache pine cones.

The discounter sold over 5.5 million bottles of sparkling wine and half a million turkeys.

Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland, said the retailer had performed well in "what remains a challenging time for many."

Last month, he said Britons had spread the cost of Christmas by shopping earlier and dining in more.

Aldi ended the year with 1,081 stores. It plans to open 80 over the next two years and has a long-term target of 1,500.

Tesco is due to report its Christmas sales on Thursday, and Sainsbury's on Friday. Industry data from researcher Worldpanel will be published on Tuesday.

($1 = 0.7448 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton and Bernadette Baum)

((james.davey@thomsonreuters.com))