German-grocer ALDI opened its fifth store in Louisiana on October 20th in La Place. It is one of 150 new U.S. stores the grocer plans to open in 2022. ALDI’s product selection and store format are strategically designed to keep prices low. Of the 1,650 items ALDI carries, about 90% are ALDI-exclusive brands. In a time of skyrocketing inflation, Aldi’s no-frills format is quickly gaining traction with shoppers. ALDI has allotted at least twenty new stores for the Gulf Coast region including of Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana. The first ALDI opened in Louisiana in February 2022 in Lafayette, and the company is planning to open more stores in New Iberia, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge this year. The second Lafayette location will open on November 10. Additional store openings planned for the remainder of 2022 include locations in Metairie and Covington, both currently under construction.
ALDI is the fastest growing grocer in the nation, both in terms of the number of new stores and of square footage according to a report by commercial real estate analysts Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). In 2021, the company opened 88 new stores with the square footage totaling over 2.2 million square feet of retail space. By comparison, the second fast-growing conventional chain Publix added 1.3 million square feet of novel retail space. ALDI’s growth projections will make it the third-largest U.S. grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022.