Experts: Aldi’s plans for 800 new stores will likely include CT
Supermarket experts say even though low-price grocer Aldi already has 31 stores in Connecticut, the state is ripe for further expansion by the chain.
The German-headquartered supermarket announced late last week that it plans to open 800 stores in the United States by the end of 2028. Included in that number are 400 stores acquired from Southeast Grocers that operate as Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores, according to company officials.
A significant number of the Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket locations will convert to the Aldi format over the next several years, company officials said.
Aldi’s $9 billion expansion will focus on the Northeast and Midwest, where the company will add nearly 330 new stores over the five-yearperiod. The rest will be built in Southern California and Phoenix.
Jason Hart, Aldi’s chief executive officer, said increased food prices around the country have increased demand for the chain’s lowprice format.
“With up to 40 percent savings on groceries, new customers are inspired to try us out, and existing customers
keep coming back,” Hart said. “While price is important, we earn their loyalty by stocking our shelves with only the best products and offering a quicker, easier, and more enjoyable shopping experience.”
Aldi officials have not yet identified any locations in Connecticut where it might build new stores.
The chain’s Connecticut footprint makes Aldi the third largest grocer in the state,
trailing only Stop & Shop and Big Y. Of the total number of Aldi locations in the state, the majority of the chain’s stores are clustered in New Haven and Hartford counties, with 10 locations in each county.
Aldi has only two locations in Fairfield County and just three stores between Branford and the Rhode Island border along the Connecticut shoreline. Those two areas are most likely to be targeted by Aldi as the chain rolls out
its expansion, said Burt Flickinger, managing director of the New York City-based retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group.
“I could see another 10 or 12 Aldi locations being added over the next five years,” Flickinger said. “One of the areas they are targeting in the Northeast is southern New England, which they feel is underserved in terms of supermarkets.”
Aldi has nine stores in Rhode Island and 21 in Massachusetts. The typical Aldi store, built to suit the company’s specifications, is between 20,000 and 28,000 square feet, according to Flickinger said.
Wayne Pesce, president of the Connecticut Food Association, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Aldi expand in Connecticut because “there are signs of growth in the marketplace.” But Pesce said expansion in Fairfield County might be too pricey for Aldi officials to consider.
“If you want to play, you’re going to pay and it all starts with retail rents in Fairfield County,” he said. Labor and energy expenses as well as rents are the three biggest cost drivers that supermarket operators have, according to Pesce.
Although Aldi is a member of the Connecticut Food Association, Pesce said he is not privy to the demographic information executives of the chain uses in its site selection.
“Their business model may work in some communities, but not in others,” Pesce said.