ALDI on Pace to Break Store Opening Record in 2025
A year and a half after announcing that it was acquiring Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket banners from Southeastern Grocers (SEG) and in the midst of converting some of those stores, ALDI U.S. is shifting its strategies for store changeovers and growth. The retailer confirmed the news that it is divesting about 170 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores and choosing to focus on a smaller number of conversions.
The boomerang spinoff isn’t slowing down ALDI’s growth plans, however. ALDI announced that it intends to open more than 225 stores in 2025, the most stores to be unveiled in one year during its nearly 50-year history. Those 2025 openings include about 100 conversions of remaining Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets stores as well as other new ALDI stores, many of them in the Western region of the United States. According to ALDI, about 220 SEG locations will switch over ALDI format stores from now through 2027.
ALDI explained the move to divest the 170 Winn-Dixie and Harveys locations back to a consortium that includes SEG senior leaders, C&S Wholesale Grocers and private investors. "When we announced our acquisition of Southeastern Grocers, we shared that we intended for a meaningful number of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets to continue to operate, and we're delivering on that promise while also supporting ALDI growth. Over the last year, we've seen firsthand how C&S Wholesale Grocers, Southeastern Grocers and their teams have continued to deliver great quality, service and value to their customers, and we are confident they will lead the company successfully into its next chapter," said ALDI’s CEO Jason Hart.
He continued, "Converting the remaining locations to the ALDI format is critically important to our nationwide commitment to help shoppers fill their carts with quality groceries for less. As shoppers continue to feel sticker shock at the checkout, the value ALDI delivers can't be beat."
ALDI was already in growth mode, opening nearly 120 new stores in 2024 and remodeling several others. As ALDI U.S. President Dave Rinaldo told Progressive Grocer in November, one in four consumers in the United States shop at ALDI, twice the amount from just six years ago, and the retailer continues to invest in its efficient operations to deliver quality and value to its customers.
Batavia, Ill.-based ALDI U.S. serves millions of customers across the country each month with more than 2,300 stores in 38 states. The company is No. 28 on The PG 100. PG also named ALDI its Retailer of the Year for 2023.
