Aldi appoints Colin Breslin as managing director of buying and services

Aldi Ireland has named Colin Breslin as its managing director of buying and services, a new role within the supermarket chain’s Irish structure.

Mr Breslin, who previously served as regional managing director, will report to group managing director Niall O’Connor in his new role, a multifaceted position that incorporates the German retailer’s buying, marketing and communications and human resources functions.

Aldi said in a statement: “Having joined the business in 2003 as an area manager, [Mr Breslin] has worked in several different roles in the Aldi business over the space of nearly 20 years, including store operations director (both in Aldi Ireland and GB) before assuming a regional managing director position in 2015.”

Importantly for Aldi, which is plotting a major expansion of its footprint in Dublin, Mr Breslin will also have responsibility for the company’s national real estate department.

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Before Christmas, the chain restated its ambition to expand its footprint in the capital – where rivals such as Dunnes Stores and Tesco have traditionally had a much bigger presence – and said that it is examining 25 sites as potential locations for 11 new stores, with plans to invest €75 million.

The first of those stores opened on Thursday in Adamstown in west Dublin, Aldi’s 25th outlet to open in the county and its 156th nationwide.

The German-owned company said in a statement on Wednesday that it remains committed to this expansion programme.

Aldi Adamstown store manager Dmitri Sakovits said: “This new store, and the 30 new jobs created, will support our ambition to deliver value to the people of Dublin at the locations most convenient to them.”

Operating profits at Aldi Ireland topped €39 million in 2021, a 44 per cent decline from the previous year, accounts filed before Christmas revealed, as the German-owned supermarket chain grappled with higher prices and the disruption of Covid-19.