The LA Times is reporting that ALDI is set to open 45 stores in the Southern California area by 2016.  The German grocer which also owns Trader Joe’s and competes with all the existing retailers including Wal-Mart, Costco, Vons/Safeway(which merged with Albertsons), Ralphs, Sprouts, and others,  is building a headquarters and distribution center in Moreno Valley.  The Moreno Valley Division is located at 1770 Iowa Ave, Suite 240, Riverside, CA 92507.

Jason Hart is ALDI’s CEO in the US.

The grocery space is getting more crowded with Haggen, Google, and Amazon getting into the space.

What does the region mean to ALDI when compared to others who have struggled, namely Fesh & Easy and Famima.  Is the market ripe for another surge?

ALDI is owned and controlled by the Albrecht family in Germany which also owns Monrovia based Trader Joe’s.

ALDI stores are lean run and require approx 20 employees average to run, most of the items are private labeled, and the pay for employees is higher than most stores, running around $13 to as much as $20.

In 2014, ALDI opened 130 stores.  They hope to keep that pace for several years with plans to have opened 650 stores by the end of 2018.  An estimated $3 billion will be invested to pay for land, facilities and equipment.

The first store in expected to open in March 2016, with an expected 25 stores opening before July 2016.

No specific locations are available for the stores, but it is speculated that at least one store will be located in Altadena, CA.  Specifics are here.

What will a typical store look like? Here’s a sample.

We would expect many of the Southern California locations to resemble this design.

According to a June 11, 2015 press release by ALDI put out by Weber ShandWick.