Aldi pushes its East Coast presence further into Philadelphia area and New York

Aldi’s geographic footprint continues to grow.

On Thursday, the discount grocer will push ahead its presence in Pennsylvania and New York with three new store openings.

The Pennsylvania stores are in and around Philadelphia at 829 Paoli Pike in West Chester, 45 minutes from the city center, and 12002 E. Roosevelt Boulevard in the city.

“Our stores are designed to make grocery shopping smarter, faster and easier, and we’ve been voted the price leader for six years running,” said Bob Grammer, Center Valley regional VP for Aldi, in a statement. “We have served this community for more than 30 years and are excited to continue to offer Philadelphia residents an affordable way of shopping.”

The Batavia, Illinois-based discount grocer will also open its first store in Hempstead, New York, at 280 Peninsula Blvd. on Thursday.

“We’re excited to open our first Aldi store in Hempstead and introduce local customers to a new, more affordable way of shopping,” said Chris Daniels, South Windsor regional VP for Aldi, in a statement.

Aldi’s rapid acceleration rate for growth will continue on the East Coast next month as well. On June 15, a new store will open in Orchard Park, an outer ring suburb southeast of Buffalo, New York.

Penetration into Pennsylvania’s grocery space will also continue next month as Aldi readies to open new stores in St. Marys and Wyomissing.

The store openings are part of Aldi’s plan to add 120 new stores this year, bringing its store count nationwide to more than 2,400.

“While inflation is undoubtedly driving unprecedented demand for affordable groceries, we know that once customers experience the Aldi difference, they keep shopping with us, even when the economy improves,” said Jason Hart, CEO of Aldi U.S., in a statement. “Our growth is led by our customers, and they continue to want more Aldi locations coast to coast.”

Aldi’s 2023 expansion plans come on the heels of a banner year for the discount grocer. In 2022, Aldi opened and remodeled 139 stores. Last February, the grocery chain said it planned to open approximately 150 new stores in 2022, to become the third-largest U.S. grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022 but fell short of that goal.