Three Aldi locations to reopen before Thanksgiving
Aldi said that three locations will reopen before Thanksgiving as part of the company's nationwide plan to update and expand.
The Geneva store, located at 975 E. State St., will reopen on Thursday, Nov. 9. The Villa Park store, located at 1630 S. Ardmore Ave., will reopen on Thursday, Nov. 16 and the Batavia store, located at 451 N. Randall Road, will reopen on Friday, Nov. 17. All stores will celebrate the reopening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:25 a.m. on the respective reopening dates. Following the ceremony, the first 100 shoppers will receive a golden ticket, each containing Aldi gift cards of various amounts. There will also be eco-friendly bag distribution, Produce for a Year sweepstakes and product sampling at the reopening celebrations.
The Glen Ellyn Aldi, at 700 Roosevelt Road, reopened last week.
The remodeled stores are part of the Batavia-based company's nationwide $1.6 billion store remodel plan. In total, Aldi intends to remodel 130 stores in the Chicago area by 2020 at an investment of nearly $180 million.
The new Aldi store provides a more modern look with a focus on fresh items, including more produce, dairy and bakery sections. The remodeled stores also feature an updated design, open ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally-friendly building materials, such as recycled materials, energy-saving refrigeration and LED lighting.
As grocers become more competitive, Aldi is expanding across the country with hopes of gaining a piece of the spending pie.
Aldi, known for low prices on its private-label items, plans to spend $3.4 billion over the next five years to open 900 supermarkets, the company said. Aldi, a German discount grocer, made the announcement as its European rival, Lidl, prepares to open its first U.S. stores this month, with plans for as many as 100 by the summer of 2018.
The U.S. expansion by the German private-label giants could put more pressure on conventional retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kroger Co. to lower their prices. The new competition in the low-margin industry arrives during a deflationary spiral that has seen food prices drop for about 17 straight months, the longest such streak in more than 60 years.
• Business Writer Kim Mikus contributed to this report.