Progressive Grocer, a leading publisher in the food retail business, named Aldi its Retailer of the Year, stating that shoppers seeking relief from high grocery prices – and seeking products not found anywhere else – have become obsessed with them.
Furthermore, “the fastest-growing grocer in the country just added more fuel to the rocket ship” with its plans to acquire Southeastern Grocers. Scheduled to close in the first half of 2024, the transaction includes about 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The company plans to convert many of the stores to the Aldi format, with a meaningful amount continuing to operate under their existing banners.
According to Aldi CEO Jason Hart, the deal adds to the retailer’s planned growth across the country.
“We’ve opened hundreds of stores over the past several years, with plans to open 120 new stores nationwide by the end of this year, bringing our total store count to over 2,400,” Hart said.
Progressive Grocer cites several reasons for Aldi’s growth, including its expanded assortment of fresh food, remodeled stores, curated products, sustainability efforts, and operational efficiencies.
In 2017, Aldi said it would invest $3.4 billion to accelerate store openings, with a goal of growing from 1,700 to 2,500 locations by 2022. The pandemic slowed the plan, but in 2022 they opened and remodeled 139 stores and will open 120 more this year. As a result, Aldi is now the third-largest grocer in the U.S. by store count.