Queues 100m long greeted staff for the opening of the Albury Aldi at 617-621 Young Street, which follows stores in Lavington and Wodonga.

Albury’s Renee Vallance swooped on first-day bargains picking up an electric leaf blower and DVD player.

“I used to go to Lavington so it’s great they’ve finally opened up in Albury and I was lucky to find a few bargains today,” she said.

“I couldn’t be happier, I love Aldi stores, the price and the friendly service.”

Albury’s Brenda Kausche built up a loyalty to Aldi after spending two years in Germany, and her affinity was further boosted after marrying a German-born man.

“They have some great products, I bought an ironing press which has lasted for years,” she said.

“And I probably would save $100 at least on every full trolley (of groceries).

“It’s good to see this one has a few of the German products, like the sausages in a jar, the schnitzels and so forth.”

And she had a tip for Aldi shoppers.

“I always get the catalogue on the way out which gives you the weekly specials which start the following Thursday,” she said.

“You can always find something good there but you have to get in early, they usually sell out on Thursdays.”

The 1125sq m supermarket was part of a $10 million development on the site which includes others small shops and a car park.

Managing director for Aldi’s Derrimut region, Andrew Starr, said the Albury store would be the biggest of the three in the twin cities.

“The new Albury store is larger than the existing Wodonga and Lavington stores with around 200sq m of additional store floor space,” he said.

He said it would offer “high-quality, exclusive brands at extraordinarily low prices” and would have a downward effect on grocery prices in the area.

“Independent surveys consistently demonstrate that consumers can save 25 to 40 per cent on their weekly shopping bill at Aldi,” he said.

Aldi’s first Australian store opened in January, 2001, and there are now 212 stores along the eastern seaboard.

The new store will be open Monday to Wednesday, 9am to 7pm, Thursday and Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 8.30am to 6pm and Sunday 9am to 6pm.