Aldi opens new Portsmouth supermarket in The Pompey Centre, Fratton with appearance from Olympic sailor Eilidh McIntyre

Aldi officially opened it’s new shop at The Pompey Centre retail park at 8.00am this morning (November 2). The store opened at the former site of B&Q – and an Aldi spokesperson said that around 45 jobs have been created.

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Former Olympic sailor and gold medalist Eilidh McIntyre cut a ceremonial ribbon to mark the occassion and gave away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s Super 6 range to the first 30 customers.

The unit was previously a large B&Q store but, following a restructure, B&Q has significantly downsized and made way for three new retailers – the other being Matalan and Home Bargains.

Also present were pupils from Wimborne Primary School, who heard McIntyre give a speech about the value of healthy eating and her experience of competing as an Olympian.Store manager Grant McAvery said: “It was lovely to welcome our new customers into store, and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks. I’m also thrilled that we’ve been able to support Wimborne Primary School through our partnership with Team GB.”

Team GB star Eilidh McIntyre added: “I’ve had a fantastic time opening the new Aldi this morning. It was an honour to officially open the store and welcome customers inside for the first time.

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“It was great to speak with the children at Wimborne Primary School about the importance of eating healthily and how it can be fun to plan and prepare meals as a family. Hopefully I’ve also managed to inspire the pupils to keep active and try different sports.”

Additionally, the new Aldi store is calling on local charities and food banks in Fratton to register with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to charitable organisations in the local community.

Local charities that register will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, seven days a week.

You can visit the new Aldi supermarket at The Pompey Centre, Fratton, PO4 8SL, from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

Any charities in the area that would like to partner up with the new Aldi store can email [email protected].