Shoppers 'gutted' as budget supermarket chain to close store this month

Aldi is closing one of its stores in a matter of weeks. The will say goodbye to its branch in Llanelli, Wales, on April 27.

It means shoppers will have to visit the next nearest in Trostre Road, which is around 1.5miles away. One devastated shopper said on : "There is a lot of elderly people who rely on this store it needs to stay." Another said: "There be nothing worth going to town for soon."

A third said: "So many people walk to this Aldi. It's a great place with fabulous staff! What about the people who don't drive? This is a huge blow for so many!" A fourth said: "I'll be gutted much prefer this store to the new one. It will be missed." Another said: "Trostre shelves are always empty - town centre is my go to!"

Councillor Sarah Evans told : ”This is a hell of a blow to those who do not have a car in my ward who face a far longer journey to travel to do their weekly shop. In particular it will hit the elderly and the most vulnerable the hardest. Llanelli welcomed Aldi with open arms as it brought cheaper prices and competition to the other major supermarket chains.”

Councillor Shaun Greaney added: “People can ill-afford to lose this store. With rising energy prices, water bills, and a near 9% hike in council tax, this shop was a lifeline for those barely scraping by. I don’t know how people are going to manage now.”

Aldi has over 1,000 stores but has long-term plans to expand this to 1,500. It comes after the supermarket announced that shoppers will soon be able to buy tickets from its self-checkouts. The budget retailer has sold lottery tickets since 2021 but only through its manned checkouts.

Lucky Dip tickets for Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball and Set For Life games will all be available from the self-checkout touchscreens, while those with a National Lottery Fast Pay card will be able to scan this to generate their bespoke tickets. An age verification check will be carried out by an Aldi colleague before shoppers can complete their transaction.

The rollout is already underway across stores and is expected to be complete by spring this year. Aldi has also announced shoppers will be able to reserve their popular Too Good To Go food bags up to five days in advance over the Easter break.

This is a major extension to the 24-hour reservation time previously. The change means shoppers in England and Wales will be able to order the Surprise Bags from Monday, April 14, for collection on Saturday, April 19, ahead of stores closing for Easter Sunday.

But in not-so good news, Aldi has scrapped its trial of in-store dispensers that allowed shoppers to fill containers with food to reduce single-use plastic. The scheme allowed shoppers to fill up their own containers with loose produce including coffee, cereal and nuts.

As well as helping to cut plastic waste, the supermarket said shoppers save 5% compared to buying the equivalent items already packaged. The trial, run by the Refill Coalition and using funding from Innovate UK, was launched in Solihull in 2023 and was later expanded to Leamington Spa in September last year.

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