The German chain plans to add more than 200 stores on a net basis in the U.S. this year

By Kate King – Sept. 1, 2025 5:30 am ET – Wall Street Journal

Aldi​ says it is ​the third-largest grocery chain by store count in the U.S. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Aldi is undergoing its biggest U.S. expansion, planning to add over 200 net new stores in 2025, making it one of America’s fastest-growing retailers.View more

German discount grocer Aldi is increasing an already big bet on the U.S. market, pushing into new cities and neighborhoods as it undergoes its biggest-ever expansion in this country.

Aldi plans to add more than 200 stores on a net basis in the U.S. in 2025, making it America’s fastest-growing retailer this year after the two big dollar-store chains, according to data firm Coresight Research. Company executives say they are responding to a customer base of inflation-weary shoppers eager for lower grocery bills, but also for organic produce and select-cut meats.

“This is really Aldi’s time to shine,” said Neil Saunders of research firm GlobalData. “You can shop on a real budget at Aldi and get quite a lot for your money.”

The company goes to great lengths to cut costs. Products are displayed in crates that are pulled off trucks and placed directly on the shelves, saving the time and expense of employees individually stocking items. 

Aldi is smaller than a traditional American grocery store and relies heavily on its own products to deliver low prices; about 90% of the items it sells are private label.

Now, it is putting its formula to the test in one of the most densely populated and expensive areas of the country. The grocer plans to open its largest New York City store next summer near Times Square, capitalizing on both tourist foot traffic and the neighborhood’s growing residential population.

“Obviously there’s a lot of mouths to feed,” said Dan Gavin, vice president of national real estate for Aldi. 

Aldi supermarkets are generally smaller than a traditional American grocery store. Photo: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg News

Think of Aldi as an even lower-budget Trader Joe’s. In fact, the two chains share DNA: They are owned by companies founded by German brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht.

In recent years, Aldi has invested in improving its stores’ appearance and its food quality, Saunders said. American shoppers, meanwhile, have become more amenable to smaller-format grocery stores and private-label brands after years of loyalty to the big-box, big-brand shopping experience. 

And as high inflation following the pandemic pushed up food prices, shoppers flocked to Aldi. 

“It’s really hard to rack up a big bill when you get to the register,” Saunders said.

Vanessa Serrano said shopping at Aldi helped her family afford lunch and snacks over the summer, when Serrano and her siblings weren’t able to eat free meals at school. Now, as a Starbucks employee and college student, Serrano said she shops at Aldi for fresh produce and other groceries.

“I’m working with a barista budget,” said Serrano, 22, who lives in Toms River, N.J. “Aldi is something I can afford.”

Aldi’s appeal is similar to the “treasure hunt” shopping experience at discount retailers such as the TJX brands, Burlington and Five Below, which have also been adding stores since the pandemic. Aldi might have a huge pallet of corn on sale one day and a big pile of tomatoes the next. 

Aldi’s products are displayed in crates that are pulled off trucks and placed directly on the shelves. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The grocer’s “Aldi Finds” aisle is a rotating hodgepodge of discounted items. A recent stroll through the section at a store in Queens, N.Y., revealed a white ceramic cowgirl-boot shaped candle for $9.99, a splash pad for pets for $12.99 and HVAC replacement filters among other home goods and tchotchkes.  

“When you’re going into an Aldi you’re kind of exploring,” said Jeff Edison, chief executive of Phillips Edison, a real-estate investor that owns grocery-anchored shopping centers. “The person going in there is saying, ‘Oh look, tomatoes are on sale, let’s do BLTs for dinner.’”

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Aldi, which opened its first U.S. store in Iowa in 1976, says it is now the third-largest grocery chain by store count in the U.S., its largest market, with more than 2,500 locations. Nearly half of this year’s openings will be conversions of former Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket locations. Aldi acquired the two chains from Southeastern Grocers in 2023.

The grocer plans to add more than 800 additional stores by the end of 2028. Its new store in the Times Square neighborhood will open in the base of the luxury rental building the Ellery, developed and owned by Taconic Partners and National Real Estate Advisors. At 25,000 square feet, the store will be larger than its typical location and is expected to open in the summer of 2026. 

“The Northeast has always been a challenge to get into,” Gavin said. “But we’re figuring out ways to make our model work in these tight urban areas.”

George Tsapelas, senior vice president at Taconic, said that in addition to serving residents of its building and the broader neighborhood, Aldi’s global brand recognition will help attract other tenants to the Ellery’s remaining 19,000 square feet of available retail space.

Write to Kate King at kate.king@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications
Aldi plans to open its largest New York City store next summer near Times Square. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said, in one instance, that the grocer expected to open the store next spring. (Corrected on Sept. 1)