One thing Aldi shoppers likely never have to worry about is an old-fashioned store. Less than three years after giving its Benton Harbor supermarket a virtually complete makeover, corporate officials have announced that the Benton Harbor Store will get yet another fresh makeover, and apparently before the year is out.
The international retailer cut the ribbon on its most recently remodeled store back on Thursday on 28th Street in Grand Rapids and revealed at that time that it was just the beginning for West Michigan properties with some 50 of them facing a new look over the period of the next 24-months, but 18 stores across the region will get their makeover by the end of the current calendar year.
The $22-million venture to make over stores from Benton Harbor to Battle Creek and beyond is just a slice of the much larger $1.6-billion plan announced by Aldi back in February when they unveiled an extremely aggressive plan to brush up most of their 1,300 U.S. stores by 2020.
Ryan Fritsch is Vice President of the Webberville Division of Aldi and he listed the 17 other stores in West Michigan to get the new look like Aldi on 28th Street in Grand Rapids. They include the following stores:
- 1427 E. US 223, Adrian
- 1700 Pipestone Road, Benton Harbor
- 8385 W. Grand River, Brighton
- 33650 Gratiot Ave., Clinton Township
- 39827 Groesbeck Highway, Clinton Township
- 4101 Alpine Ave. N.W., Comstock Park
- 571 24th St., Holland
- 1100 W. North St., Jackson
- 1200 Southfield Road, Lincoln Park
- 26300 Greenfield Road, Oak Park
- 6291 S. Westnedge, Portage
- 25851 Grand River Ave., Redford
- 47342 Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Township
- 2967 E. Big Beaver, Troy
- 5038 Highland Road, Waterford
- 20076 West Road, Woodhaven
- 289 54th St. S.W., Wyoming
The new ALDI store look delivers on its customers’ desire for a modern and convenient shopping experience with a focus on fresh items, including more robust produce, dairy and bakery sections. In the last few years, ALDI has added a number of new product lines that have quickly become customer favorites, including the liveGfree brand of gluten-free foods, SimplyNature products featuring many organic items and a full line of premium baby items under the Little Journey brand.
Remodeled stores will also feature a modern design, open ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally friendly building materials – such as recycled materials, energy-saving refrigeration and LED lighting.
Today, ALDI serves more than 40 million customers each month, which is a nearly 60 percent increase since 2013. Customer feedback shows they’re thrilled about the enhancements ALDI has made to its premium-quality products and the additions to its everyday lineup.
ALDI is embarking on this significant remodel program while continuing to implement an accelerated growth plan to open 650 new stores across the US. By the end of 2018, ALDI expects to operate nearly 2,000 stores, bringing the ALDI difference to more than 45 million customers each month. As previously announced, ALDI will invest more than $3 billion to pay for land, facilities and equipment to open these new stores.
Aldi is essentially a no-frills grocer where customers actually bag their own groceries to reduce costs and pay a 25-cent deposit for utilization of the grocery carts in-store, while offering an Aldi brand in-house line of products priced at up to 50-percent off similar items sold elsewhere.
There is no immediate word on when the Benton Harbor store makeover at 1700 Pipestone in Benton Charter Township will get underway or how long it will take. The last makeover was completed at the end of October in 2014.
The photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com is courtesy of Aldi’s multi-media department and depicts their modern new look being established system-wide.
