Aldi defies pandemic-fueled closings with plans to open another 70 stores this year

• Aldi said Tuesday it plans to open another 70 US stores before the end of the year.
• The company also said it has surpassed 2,000 stores in the US.
• Aldi is on track to become the third largest grocery chain in the US by store count by 2022.

Aldi is charging ahead with its US expansion despite the pandemic's devastating impact on the retail industry, which has seen dozens of major chains announce store closures in recent months.

The German grocer, which is one of the largest supermarket chains in the world, said Tuesday that it plans to kick off its "next wave of expansion" with 70 store openings in the next five months.

As part of the expansion, Aldi will enter two new states: Arizona and Louisiana. Aldi will also break ground on a new distribution center and regional headquarters in Loxley, Alabama that will support new store openings in the Gulf Coast.

Aldi also announced that it has surpassed 2,000 stores in the US, and is still on track to become the country's third-largest grocer by store count in 2022 behind only Walmart and Kroger.

Aldi is opening dozens more stores this year, even as many retailers are contracting or slowing growth amid the pandemic.

Retailers have announced more than 5,500 store closings so far in 2020.