Shoppers will have more options to buy cheaper groceries as Aldi plans takeover of hundreds of beloved supermarkets

Grocery retail giant Aldi has announced another selection of locations as it plans to acquire hundreds of supermarket locations across the US southeast.

Southeastern Grocers sells the Winn Dixie and Harvey’s brands to the German discount grocer at a total of almost 400 locations in five states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

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Depending on location, Aldi will rebrand a number of its stores under its own name while retaining the brands of other stores.

This decision could be made in part based on the square footage of each location.

Aldi stores are typically around 20,000 square feet, Winn Dixies are typically around 50,000 square feet, and Harvey’s are typically around 18,000 to 35,000 square feet.

The latter of the two stores bought might be a better size for a rebrand, but no official decision has been made yet.

If everything goes smoothly, the acquisition should be completed in the first half of 2024.

This purchase will quickly expand the already fast-growing conglomerate from 2,200 stores to potentially 2,600 across the country.

An expansion of this magnitude is planned, as Aldi announces on its website: “Our explosive growth is taking the ALDI brand to new regions and communities. Across our organization and across the country, we create opportunities for people of all skill levels.”

Aldi currently has 26 stores across the country, primarily focused in the Northeast, Midwest and Upper Southeast.

The company forecasts around 25,000 new jobs at the warehouse, branch and company level.

The store currently generates around $121.1 billion in annual revenue, but there are no official projections as to how this expansion could affect that figure.

Shoppers in the South East are excited about Aldi’s geographic expansion and have used X (formerly Twitter) to voice their opinions.

A user has commented on this Aldi USA account Recent newsletter post: “I know you guys just bought Winn Dixie. PLEASE turn the Winn Dixie in Clanton, Alabama into an ALDI. We need him here.”

Some outside the new region have asked for the chain to grow faster and reach them faster.

One X user replied to Aldi USA’s account: “Please come to Central Coast California; we need them.”

Another has spoken out in favor of Texas locations: “Dear Aldi, Bastrop, Texas needs an Aldi store Walmart. An Aldi store would be a fantastic addition to the regular market.”

One Arizona buyer feels the same way, writing, “I absolutely must have a location in Prescott Valley, Arizona (please).”

Aldi USA’s account teased that they might do just that one day: “Hope we can do it like this one day!”