Aldi claims to contribute $3.2bn to Aussie economy

Aldi Australia has released a new report claiming it contributed $3.2 billion to Australia’s GDP in 2018.

The report is titled ‘Making a Good Difference: how ALDI contributes to the Australian Economy’. According to Aldi, it “measures the impact of its entry into Australia and the contribution it has made to the economy over the past 18 years”.

Aldi prepared the report in partnership with PwC.

Main findings

The report claims that Aldi’s operations contributed $3.2 billion to Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018. Since entering the market in 2001, estimates PwC, Aldi has made a total contribution to GDP of almost $23 billion.

Other major claims include:

• Aldi saves its shoppers $2.2 billion per year compared with shopping at national competitors.
• Shoppers at other major supermarkets saved $450 million in 2018 and $5.68 billion over the past 18 years as a result of the increased competition and downward price pressure Aldi has created.
• Aldi’s largest contribution to GDP in 2018 – $1.5 billion – came from its business partnerships with suppliers of products sold in-store (merchandise suppliers).
• Its business partners (suppliers) in 2018 voted its commercial conduct to be 80 per cent “more favourable” than its nearest major competitor.
• Its leadership in private label has motivated other supermarkets to expand their own private-label offerings. This has resulted in all grocery customers saving $3.48 billion in 2018 and $18.67 billion over the past 18 years.

‘Positive impact’

ALDI Australia CEO Tom Daunt was quick to hail the report as testament to Aldi’s positive impact on Australia.

“We’re proud our business in Australia has had such a positive impact in so many ways,” he said. “This goes well beyond just the savings experienced by our customers.

“We’ve created careers for thousands of employees and driven enormous growth for private-label manufacturers in Australia.

“We’ve also directed billions of dollars into the national economy via real estate, store construction, wages, business partnerships and taxes.”