Aldi wants to expand: 800 new branches in the USA

After Great Britain, German discounter Aldi wants to expand its business in the USA. In doing so, he is not only leaving the German competition behind.

Aldi ad in Florida City, Florida, USA, February 2019 Photo: Rüdiger Volk/Imago

Batavia/Malheim dpa | Discount company Aldi plans to open about 800 new branches in the USA by the end of 2028. In the next few years, about $9 billion (8.22 billion euros) will flow into expansion, the company announced on Friday in Batavia, Illinois. Approximately 330 new branches will be built in the Northeast and Midwest.

Aldi recently completed the acquisition of US retailer Southeastern Grocers and its supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Harveys. Some of its nearly 400 stores in the Southeastern United States will be gradually converted into Aldi stores over the next few years, the company announced Friday. However, some sites will continue to operate under their current brand names.

The US discounter is owned by Aldi Süd, which is based in Mülheim an der Ruhr. According to trade research institute EHI, the company recorded net sales of €16.9 billion in the US in 2022. In recent years, Aldi says it has opened more than 100 new branches there annually, for a total of more than 2,200. Its rival Lidl has fewer than 200 Store in the USA.

Aldi recently announced its desire to expand its business in Great Britain. This year, the equivalent of 644 million euros will be invested in building new branches and modernizing existing branches. The company did not reveal the number of new stores.

Founders Karl and Theo Albrecht split Aldi into two independent companies in 1961: Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. Since then, not only does Aldi's equator pass through Germany, but the world is also divided. Branches in France, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, for example, belong to Aldi Nord. Aldi Süd targets customers in Great Britain, Italy, Australia and elsewhere. Both companies are represented in the USA, but Aldi Nord operates under the Trader Joe's name. The first Aldi store in the USA was opened in 1976.