US: Aldi sees potential for 450 stores in Texas
“We still have plenty of room to grow in Texas,” said Hector Alejandro, director of regional buying for Aldi Inc. “This is an open call to anyone we haven’t tapped into yet.”
The grocer is holding what it’s calling a supplier engagement event on March 18 at the company’s Denton distribution center. Almost all the items sold in Aldi stores, from pickles and ice cream to paper and cleaning products, are private-label brands.
“Opportunities for us in Texas are substantial, and we want to continue to support our growth with more suppliers in Texas and all the neighboring states,” Alejandro said. “We have received a great response for the event,” he said, with potential suppliers coming from all major cities in Texas.
In November, Aldi said it was in the early stages of accelerating its U.S. growth plans. It expects to open 650 stores, including an expansion into Southern California, bringing its total U.S. store count to 2,000 by 2018.
Aldi said it’s responding to consumer demand. The chain’s stores are about 17,000 square feet, a third of the size of a traditional supermarket, and they stock about 1,400 items.
The company is looking for producers and growers of all sizes, Alejandro said. “Some companies may only be able to supply us in one or two states,” he said.
Aldi has suppliers across the U.S., but many are in the Midwest near its headquarters in suburban Chicago. The grocer wants to add suppliers closer to its stores and new distribution centers.
Since it arrived here in 2010, Aldi has opened 89 stores in Texas, 52 of them in North Texas and 19 in Houston. The German-owned company, which is based in Batavia, Ill., operates a large distribution center in Denton. It has a second under construction near Houston, a 650,000-square-foot facility that will open in Rosenberg in early 2016.
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