Aldi to open 3 new stores in Ohio this month

Aldi is scheduled to open three new grocery stores in Ohio this month, as the discount grocer continues to widen its footprint in the Midwest.

On Thursday, Aldi will open its first grocery store in Urbana, which is in the northeastern part of the state. The new store will be located at 741 Scioto Street. “We’re excited to open our first Aldi store in Urbana and introduce local customers to a new, more affordable way of shopping,” Sarah Brown, Springfield regional vice president for Aldi, said in a statement.

Aldi’s growth in the state will also continue next Thursday with a new store opening in the Cincinnati suburb of Liberty Township, at 5418 Liberty Square Drive.

Aldi now operates 157 grocery stores in Ohio, according to the grocery retailer’s website. On Aug. 24, Aldi will open a new grocery store in the Cleveland suburb of Chagrin Falls, at 8368 Washington Street.

Ohio is not the only Midwest state the retailer is looking to invest in. Growth in Illinois is also part of Aldi’s strategic growth plan for 2023. Later this year, a new Aldi will open at Six Corners, a shopping district in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago's Northwest Side.

Since coming to the U.S. six years ago, Lidl US, which is Aldi US's discount rival, has not experienced the same store growth stateside. Owned by the Schwarz Group, Lidl US last month closed 11 of its grocery stores in the eastern part of the country.

On the leadership level, executive changes seem to plague Lidl US as well. According to the German trade publication Lebensmittel Zeitung, Michal Lagunionek, who was named CEO at Lidl U.S. in 2021 is taking a "short sabbatical" with plans to return to Europe in the fall, the publication reported, adding that Joel Rampoldt will step into the role.

Lidl US did not immediately respond to a WGB request for comment regarding Lagunionek’s apparent departure or Rampoldt’s apparent appointment.