Aldi embarks on five-year expansion plan

Discount grocer Aldi is launching a five-year strategic plan to open 650 new stores across the United States. The chain launched its expansion efforts with the decision to build its regional headquarters and distribution center in Moreno Valley, Calif.



To reach its aggressive five-year goal, Aldi plans to accelerate the pace of new store openings to an average of 130 per year, up from an average of 80 stores per year in recent years. Aldi also is planning to invest more than $3 billion to pay for land, facilities and equipment. When the expansion is complete, Aldi will have stores coast-to-coast and anticipates serving more than 45 million customers per month.



The expansion is expected to create more than 10,000 new jobs at Aldi stores, warehouses and division offices. Today, Aldi has nearly 1,300 stores across 32 states and employs more than 18,000 people



"We're ramping up our expansion plans to meet growing demand for Aldi from customers across the country," said Jason Hart, president, Aldi. "Recently, we successfully entered new markets such as Houston, and expanded our presence in competitive markets like South Florida and New York City. At Aldi, we believe that great quality can be affordable, and we are eager to bring the Aldi difference to new markets like Southern California."