Aldi is on the lookout for 19 new store locations across Scotland - including in the Bridge of Allan and Dunblane area.
The fourth largest volume retailer in Scotland, Aldi has been on an expansion drive in recent years as it targets having 1,200 stores open across the UK by 2025.
Any new store would be in addition to its current premises off Kerse Road in Stirling’s city centre.
Aldi, which currently has 92 stores in Scotland and more than 880 across the UK, is looking for freehold town-centre or edge-of-centre sites suitable for development.
It says each site should be around 1.5 acres and able to accommodate a 20,000 sq ft store with around 100 parking spaces, ideally on a prominent main road and with good visibility and access.
Ciaran Aldridge, National Property Director at Aldi UK, said: “Aldi is growing rapidly and we are welcoming around a million new customers into our stores every year.
“But there are also hundreds of towns across the UK where there is not an Aldi, meaning there are hundreds of thousands of people who can’t easily access the high quality, affordable food our customers love.
“We are willing to explore all opportunities, including developer-led schemes or existing retail units.”
Currently Bridge of Allan has a Tesco Express store and a Co-op, while Dunblane has a Tesco supermarket and an M&S Food store. Both communities are also served by a host of independent retailers.
Aldi’s rates of pay are higher than the Government’s National Living Wage and also above the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended national rates. Store assistants receive a minimum hourly rate of £9.40 nationally and £10.90 in London.
The retailer recently invested more than £22 million in new chill facilities for its Scottish buying department to support growth of its Scottish product range - currently 30 per cent of its range - including constructing a 4,000sq m freezer and 13,000sq m chiller.
