Aldi shuts down key part of their business to make way for new stores

As more and more Australians demand convenience, supermarkets have had to step up their offerings, including Aldi.

Aldi’s ‘Aldiliquor’ website is about to shutdown, after it lost against Coles and Woolworths’ alcohol offerings.

According to the Daily Mail, the decision to shut down the Aldiliquor.com.au site has apparently been made to focus on the expansion of further stores into South Australia and Western Australia.

The website will close on March 24, just three years after it was launched. Customers will still be able to purchase alcohol in store, however many customers don’t look at Aldi and automatically think alcohol, so it could also be short-lived.

‘We are constantly reviewing our business operations and processes to ensure we can continue to deliver exceptional value for our customers every day,’ an Aldi spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘This includes eliminating many of the costly extras associated with traditional supermarkets.

‘With extensive expansion plans now well underway, we have made the decision to close our online liquor store.’

ALDIliquor.com.au will shut as of 4pm on Thursday March 24.’

And this didn’t happen because we aren’t buying alcohol online – in fact we are, in droves. Woolworths-owned Dan Murphy’s and BWS websites, had a 4.9 per cent jump in sales to $4.4 billion.

It’s Aldi’s first setback after charging ahead of Coles and Woolworths on price and offerings.

www.aldiliquor.com.au was a world-first for the German business, and it sold brand names, as well as the company’s signature cheap wines. Last December, a $4.99 bottle of rose won a Blue Gold medal at the 2016 Sydney International Wine Competition.

In an email to customers this morning, obtained by Business Insider, Aldi Australia said in-store alcohol sales will continue.

Here’s what the email says:

Dear Customers,

ALDI Stores Australia regrets to announce the closure of its online liquor store – ALDIliquor.com.au – as of 4pm, Thursday March 24 2016.

ALDI Australia is constantly reviewing our business operations and processes to ensure we can continue to deliver exceptional value for our customers every day. With our current expansion into South Australia and Western Australia this decision has been taken to enable ALDI to focus on creating the best possible in store experience for customers, while continuing to deliver high-quality products at permanently low prices. The ALDI in-store liquor range will be unaffected by this change.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their support of ALDIliquor.com.au. The site will be trading as usual until the closing date with some fantastic special offers to stock up your liquor collection. Our standard terms and conditions will continue to apply to all purchases including the 100% satisfaction guarantee, which will be honoured after the closure date. For any holders of store credits these can be used until closure of the store with any remaining credit exchangeable for liquor online or an in-store gift voucher. For any enquiries please call 1300 ALDI.

Tell us, have you ever purchased alcohol from Aldi?