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Is there any stopping Aldi as it makes SoCal move?

February 25, 2016Written by George Anderson

Aldi has grown to be one of the nation's largest grocery chains, attracting legions of customers to its small box stores with low prices on its limited selection of predominantly private label foods. Now, the chain that Supermarket News ranked number 22 on its list of the top 75 grocery retailers and wholesalers in the U.S. and Canada, is about to become even bigger as it opens stores in the Southern California market for the first time. On March 24, Aldi will open the first eight of 45 planned locations in Southern California for 2016 with stores in Beaumont, Fontana, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, San Bernardino and Yucaipa. "We are unlike any other grocery store in the market right now," Gordon Nesbit, division vice president for Aldi, who will oversee the company's operations in Southern California, told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. "We're bringing a combination of high-quality product at exceptionally low prices. And that's really the value proposition we've been offering customers throughout the United States for the last 40 years." The combination of factors Mr. Nesbit described has helped Aldi become not only one of America's biggest, but favorite grocers. In a 2015 consumer poll by Market Force Information, Aldi ranked third behind Trader Joe's and Publix as America's favorite supermarket. Consumer Reports put Aldi as number 14 on its list of the best supermarkets in the U.S. Jack Brown, executive chairman of Stater Bros., told Supermarket News that he doesn't expect Aldi opening to have a significant impact on his company's business. Mr. Brown said Stater Bros. has succeeded for 80 years with larger stores, broader product selection and service. He doesn't expect to change that with a new competitor in the market.

Photo: aldi.com

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