- Aldi is opening 120 new stores this year, including its first locations in two Louisiana cities.
- That will bring the company's store count to 2,400 by the end of 2023.
More Aldi stores are coming to the US this year, including to two Southern cities that are new markets for the discount grocer.
The supermarket chain will open 120 new stores this year, the company said. That's an acceleration from the 87 new locations it opened in 2022.
While the stores will be located across the US, the expansion will take the company into the Louisiana cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge for the first time, according to the announcement. In January, Aldi opened a new distribution center in Alabama "to help support new stores in the area," it said.
Aldi has recently opened or plans to open several new stores along the Gulf Coast in states including Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana, Supermarket News reported.
Aldi did not immediately respond to a request from Insider for more details on where it plans to open the new stores.
The new store openings will bring Aldi's US store total to 2,400 in the US by the end of the year, the company said. It's also planning to hire about 2,000 new employees to staff the new stores, according to its announcement.
Founded by two brothers in Germany, Aldi has spent decades growing its store network in the US. It was among the fastest-growing grocers by new store openings in 2022, according to real estate firm JLL. Others included Grocery Outlet, Texas chain H-E-B, and Publix.
Aldi's business model relies on running stores that are a fraction of the size of the average Kroger or Walmart. The chain keeps prices low by having employees shift between different tasks in-store, such as working the checkout and stocking shelves, and by selling many products under its own brand instead of big names like Kraft and Pepsi.
The supermarket's low prices have made it a popular shopping choice for consumers as food inflation remains high.
"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," Aldi US CEO Jason Hart said in the expansion announcement.
The chain has garnered enough of a following that TikTok users posted about looking for Aldi-branded hats, windbreakers, and sandals when the grocer released a new apparel line earlier this year.
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