ARD Discount, a popular Italian discount supermarket chain, will be opening its first store next week, just up the road from giant chain Wellbee's in Mellieħa, introducing another budget supermarket to the island.

The discount supermarket will be located less than 100 metres from its Maltese rival on Triq il-Kbira and according to a Google Listing, the store will open on September 19. 

ARD Discount is a joint venture between Italian retailers Ergon and Maiora with over 240 stores across southern Italy and Sicily and has a 40,000 square metre distribution centre. 

Last year it opened its first store in Sardinia, with plans to open a further nine stores on the Italian island.

According to its website, it offers over 900 items from 40 different brands, such as Buono & Gusto, Fatti a Fette and Frutti di Frutta. It also offers its own range of low-cost products.

There are over 240 ARD Discount stores across Southern Italy and Sicily. Credit: ARD Discount website

On Wednesday, ARD Discount announced the opening of the Maltese store on social media platforms.

“Big things are coming to Malta, stay tuned for something awesome,” the post read, providing no further details on where the store will be located. 

The opening of the new store adds to the ever-growing number of discount supermarkets popping up across the Maltese islands. 

The announcement of the new supermarket comes after the Planning Authority approved the construction of a new LIDL supermarket on the site of the former General Softs Drinks factory in Qormi.

The development is a joint venture between the German supermarket chain and the Mizzi Organisation following initial plans by subsidiary company Mizzi Estates to transform the site into an apartment complex. 

Lidl, which opened its first Malta store in Santa Venera in 2008, now has 10 outlets across Malta and Gozo.

Earlier this year, Italian supermarket giant Eurospin opened its first store in Mosta, right next door to competitor Lidl. Risparmio Casa, another Italian discount store, also opened a store in the same locality.

Earlier this year, plans for a massive supermarket project outside the development zone in San Ġwann were withdrawn following two days of public outcry.

The proposal was to build a two-storey 7,000 square metre supermarket adjacent to a private secondary school.

Prime Minister Robert Abela was among those who opposed the project, saying he felt it was a “non-starter” and that the town's Labour-led council would object.