Aldi is already on track to be the third-largest U.S. grocer, after Walmart and Kroger, by 2022. But the supermarket chain wants to speed up the process by adding more fresh, organic, vegetarian and vegan items to its 1,800 stores.
About 20 percent of the items in Aldi’s stores will be new once this product rollout is completed, in early 2019. The chain says its overall selection of fresh foods will expand by about 40 percent with these changes. “Customers want more products that are healthier for you, that are fresher, that are more convenient, that are more organic in nature, that come from a clear ingredient deck,” Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart told Business Insider. "As demand has been exponential in all those categories, we’ve had to remerchandise the stores."
Aldi is spending about $1.9 billion to remodel existing stores and putting in an additional $3.4 billion to build 800 new ones over the next four years. "Aldi is clicking on all cylinders lately," said Hart. "We’ve doubled sales in the last five years, and we’ve got plans to double sales over the next five years."
Aldi stores typically measure about 12,000 square feet, versus Walmart’s 100,000 to 180,000 square feet and Kroger's 80,000 square feet.
By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
