New stores and demand for its premium ranges helped Aldi generate UK sales of almost £1bn in December, its best ever result for the Christmas trading period.

The discounter revealed that the week commencing 17 December was its busiest-ever, with sales over 10% higher than the previous year.

Aldi stated that its sales had benefited from shoppers switching from other supermarkets, attracted by its premium ranges.  “Although we saw strong growth across all key categories, the standout performance was in our Specially Selected brand where shoppers treated themselves to premium products for a fraction of the price they would have paid elsewhere for similar quality products,” said Giles Hurley, Chief Executive of Aldi UK.

During the month, the retailer sold over 17 million bottles of wine, champagne and prosecco, along with 50m mince pies and 100m sprouts.

Hurley added: “We begin the new year with great momentum as the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket and on the back of record Christmas sales. This has been achieved by bringing amazing-quality groceries at the lowest prices to our customers and this remains our key focus for the year ahead.”

Aldi opened over 65 new stores during 2018, increasing its total estate to 827. It reiterated today that it remains on track to have 1,200 stores in the UK by the end of 2025.

Trading updates due out this week from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons are expected to show all three chains had a relatively weak Christmas, partly due to the success of the discounters.