Aldi to open 4 new stores and 1 relocation on Thursday; touts shopper growth in Texas

Aldi is not only growing with new store locations nationwide but the discount grocer also reports it's gaining new shoppers. 

Aldi will open four new stores and one relocation nationwide this week, furthering its aggressive expansion plans. And in Texas, Aldi said it is seeing growth in first-time shoppers who come in seeking value-priced groceries.

The new stores, which will open their doors on Thursday, will be in Franklin, North Carolina; Rock Hill, Missouri; Northampton, Massachusetts; and Clio, Michigan.

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

Aldi on Thursday will also open the doors to its Washington, Missouri, store, which has been relocated to 3142 Phoenix Drive.

“We are always looking out for the needs of our shoppers and decided to move our Washington store to allow more room for added fresh, high-quality products at affordable prices, which our loyal shoppers know and love,” said Rob Jeffries, O’Fallon regional VP for Aldi, in a statement.

More than 1,000 new Aldi stores have opened throughout America over the past decade and the grocery retailer’s Texas stores saw a jump in new shopper visits. In 2022, nearly 400,000 Texans across Dallas and Houston tried Aldi for the first time, the discount grocer said in a statement.

As of February, year-over-year food-at-home prices in Dallas increased on-par with the national average of 10.2%, while in Houston, prices increased 13%.

“The influx of new shoppers over the past year shows what we knew to be true. People don’t want to spend more on groceries than they have to,” said Karla Waddleton, Aldi Rosenberg divisional VP.

With grocery price inflation still hanging around, “on average, we save our Texan shoppers $700 or nearly 15% on their grocery bills annually,” Scott Huska, divisional VP, told WGB. “And, just like the rest of the country, Texan shoppers are looking for relief from inflation, which naturally impacts their grocery budget.”

Aldi now operates 126 stores throughout the Lone Star state. As for expansion, Huska pointed out that Aldi is “focused on welcoming customers into our existing stores and always looking for new opportunities to grow our presence in Texas and beyond. This year, we plan to continue our aggressive expansion nationwide.”

Texas-based H-E-B is also expanding its footprint across its home state, where it has many loyal shoppers. The fast-growing San Antonio, Texas-based H-E-B has more than 430 stores in Texas and Mexico and shows no signs of slowing.

In 2022, H-E-B opened more new grocery square footage than any other grocer, according to an annual report from commercial real estate and property investment firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

With 154,000 workers, H-E-B is the largest private employer in the state.

Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. is also looking to capture more shoppers in Texas, particularly in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, as it announced last week plans to build three new Kroger Marketplace supermarkets.