Aldi has acquired a 55-acre site in Moreno Valley on which it will build a regional headquarters for Southern California. The company is set to construct a 850,000ft2 distribution centre that will serve around 200 regional stores, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. In total, the retailer plans to open 650 new stores in the US over the next five years.
The German discount grocery chain opened its first store in the Chicago suburb of Batavia in 1976. Today it operates almost 1,300 stores in the country, mainly on the East Coast or in the Midwest. Last year it announced it was ramping up expansion plans to meet growing demand. “We are eager to bring the Aldi difference to new markets like Southern California,” president Jason Hart said in December.
Aldi’s format of selling private label food and other grocery items at a low cost has proved popular with US consumers. The retailer’s owners the Albrecht family, also controls the Trade Joe’s chain.
