ALDI wins Liquor Store of the Year

ALDI has been awarded Liquor Store of the Year at the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards.

It's the first time ALDI has received the award, beating competitors including First Choice, Dan Murphy’s, Woolworths Liquor, IGA Liquor, BWS, Cellarbrations and Liquorland.

The awards are based on independent customer satisfaction ratings data from monthly surveys conducted in Australia involving more than 50,000 consumers.

Australian Retail Association Executive Director Russell Zimmerman told News Corp retailers needed make sure they were meeting their customers’ demands.

“These awards are some of the most credible awards around as it is the consumer speaking and voting with their feet,” he said.

“It’s a feather in their (ALDI’s) cap and something they should be proud of. ALDI is out there trying to position themselves against two large supermarket chains, their two major competitors, and they are now taking out this award. They’ve managed to target their market and what their consumers are looking for.

“Retailers need to make sure they are better than what they are no matter what they are selling.”

ALDI’s Wine and Champagne Buying Director Jason Bowyer said the secret to the chain's success was stocking a limited range of wines and sparkling wines, and a hand-selected range of seasonal liquor products at low prices.

“Each and every wine in the ALDI range is an exclusive, unique blend made in close partnership with our buyers and suppliers,” he said.

“Unlike other retailers, ALDI does not have a large format liquor store and does not carry any chilled alcohol products for immediate consumption.”

Bowyer also said he believed that ALDI’s partnerships with producers and winemakers in Australia and internationally was key.

“One such partner is Alberto Antonini ... ALDI Australia approached him directly to not only make great wine for ALDI, but also to lend his public endorsement to our wine on the label. The result is the 2015 Corte Carista Chianti Superiore ($9.99), offering our customers Tuscany’s finest, at incredible value.”