Aldi Ireland has announced the appointment of Niall O’Connor to the position of group managing director.
A native of Cork, he was appointed to the position in late 2019 and has spent the last number of months with colleagues across the global Aldi operation in preparation for his new position, the discounter said.
In his new role, the retailer highlighted that O'Connor will assume overall responsibility for all of Aldi’s activities in Ireland, including its multi-million-euro store-opening programme and Irish Buying office.
O'Connor has held several roles across the business since 2000 and was appointed group buying director in 2010.
“Having worked for Aldi for the last 20 years, I know first-hand the dedication of our staff and suppliers across the country, but never more so than now have their efforts to continue to deliver outstanding quality food been in such focus," O'Connor said.
Mitchelstown Region
Most recently, as managing director Mitchelstown Region, O'Connor was responsible for the operation of Aldi’s business across Munster and Connacht.
"Niall has made a huge contribution during his tenure at Aldi, developing our Irish buying team and leading our Mitchelstown Region store teams through dynamic growth," said Giles Hurley, CEO Aldi UK & Ireland.
'Challenging Time'
Hurley noted that O'Connor will assume the role at a challenging time for both the country and the retail sector.
"Among his first responsibilities O’Connor will lead a growing team of 4,000 staff through Aldi’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic," Hurley added.
"Aldi recently unveiled a 10% bonus payment for staff, shortened payment terms for suppliers, launched a recruitment drive for additional staff and introduced a series of social distancing measures to its stores in its ongoing response to Covid-19," he said.
According to the latest Kantar World figures, which were published on the 10 March, earlier this year Aldi has captured 11.6% of the Irish grocery market since opening its first stores in Dublin and Cork in 1999.
Aldi now operates 142 stores in Ireland with plans to open seven more this year.
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