Charles Youngstrom 2009

Bigger and bigger. Better and better.

That’s how it’s gone for Aldi in the U.S., where the once-sleepy division of the German bare-bones discounter this year surpassed the 1,000-store mark and, by SN’s estimate, $6 billion in annual sales.

Aldi owes its success in part to an economic environment that favors retailers that offer value, observers say. But the economy is only one trend Aldi has been riding: Its mastery of small stores, tight selections, private-label development and labor productivity puts the chain at the forefront of any number of trends in food retailing. And as Aldi’s geographic reach has expanded, so has its outreach to customers.

“I consider Aldi to be a very stealth company. They come into a country, don’t say much, open what they consider to be the optimum number of stores and then they go public,” Dave Marcotte, director of retail insights for Management Ventures Inc., Cambridge, Mass., told SN. “And I think as they go more public and get bigger, I think they’ll be a major disruptive force in the next five years.”

Charles Youngstrom is the senior occupant in the office of the president at Aldi. (He shares the title with Jason Hart; a third co-president, Vern Frazier, recently retired.) Youngstrom counted the chain’s geographic growth — after opening in Florida for the first time last year, Aldi debuted in Massachusetts this year and plans its first New York City outlet later this year — as its most significant accomplishment. Next year, he will lead Aldi as it opens a new division in Texas.

“It’s been a big year for Aldi – from opening our 1,000th U.S. store in Connecticut, our first Massachusetts store and preparing to open the first Texas stores in the spring of 2010,” Youngstrom told SN. “We’re pleased with our growth, both in new and existing stores, and we are looking forward to new opportunities to continue serving our customers.”

— Jon Springer