First eight stores in state to open on March 24

BATAVIA, Ill. — Aldi will open the doors of its first eight stores in Southern California on March 24.  The grand openings will be the first wave in a planned expansion that will add about 45 stores in Southern California by the end of the year.

“Ever since we announced our plan to bring Aldi to Southern California, the positive response from people across the Southland has been overwhelming, and we’re excited to start opening stores next month and throughout the year,” Gordon Nesbit, vice president of the retailer’s Moreno Valley division, said in a statement on Tuesday.  “There is a strong appetite among Southern Californians for an alternative place to shop and we are eager to show them the significant benefits that can come from shopping at Aldi, both for their wallets and lifestyles.”

Aldi’s move into Southern California, which was announced in June, is part of a five-year strategic plan that calls for the opening of 650 new stores across the country. Aldi, which currently has nearly 1,500 stores in 32 stores, expects to operate nearly 2,000 stores by the end of 2018.

The first eight Aldi stores in Southern California are located in the cities of Beaumont, Fontana, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, San Bernadino and Yucaipa. Another 19 stores are set to open from April to July. Those outlets will be located in: Anaheim, Arcadia, Bakersfield, Buena Park, Calexico, Cerritos, Covina, El Centro, Fountain Valley, Ingelwood, La Puente, La Verne, Menifee, Palm Desert, Palmdale, San Bernadino, Simi Valley, South Gate and Vista.

“We’ve been selling groceries in the U.S. for 40 years, growing deliberately and steadily throughout the country,” Nesbit said. “Shoppers who appreciate high-quality groceries at an exceptional value are everywhere, and California is no exception. We are confident once Southern California shoppers get to know us, they’ll come to love us.”