Where does Aldi fit into the grocery store mix?
Aldi, the well-respected German grocery store chain, is opening a store at I-20 and Wheatland, and it is reportedly looking at the Dallas area for major expansion, with some 50 to 100 stores. Currently, it has 850 stores in 27 states, mostly from Kansas to the East Coast. Aldi seems, in some ways, like a perfect fit for this area. Its stores are small, about one-quarter the size of a Tom Thumb or Kroger’s, so they’ll fit into our strip centers or the proposed town center. Plus, it doesn’t mind competing with Wal-Mart and SuperTarget. On the other hand, it’s not fancy — it carries about one-third the number of items that traditional stores carry, and these are usually store labels and not national brands. I’ll contact the Aldi rep in this area and see if he wants to discuss the company’s plans. And, for what it’s worth, I keep running across rumors in the cyber ether that Trader Joe’s is looking at Dallas. As far as I know, it isn’t. The company is focused on its East Coast expansion,
