Discount supermarket chain set for North Texas debut

Discount supermarket chain set for North Texas debut

by MojoPages
Local News

* Aldi Texas Web site

HURST — Aldi. You may not be familiar with the name, but this week, the international grocer is giving a big boost to the local economy.

Aldi is opening 11 stores across North Texas, and will add more than 30 additional locations between now and the fall — some of which are taking over space abandoned by other grocers. The company also built a distribution center in Denton to service its new stores.

It's bringing hundreds of new jobs to the region and creating a new shopping experience designed to stretch your grocery dollar.

"We continue to hire employees because we continue to look at our business here expanding," explained Aldi spokesman Scott Huska. "With opening 33 stores this year, we have a lot of opportunities for individuals to come on board."

Each Aldi store will hire up to 20 employees. Aldi's claim to fame is offering a limited selection of lower-priced items.

"You have the ability to save 25 percent on the grocery bill," Huska said.

One way the company saves money is by carrying only 1,400 popular items; competing supermarkets often stock more than 40,000 products.

"For instance, we may carry one brand of ketchup, which will be our select brand, and we would carry one size, which would be the most common in-purchase item in grocery arena," Huska explained.

You'll find a price comparison board at each Aldi store that shows national brand costs versus Aldi's brand.

We did some checking around on staple items: A dozen large Grade A eggs is $1.19 at Aldi; one quart of 100 percent pure Florida orange juice is $2.39.

"We are always looking to cut our expenses and doing everything as efficiently as possible," Huska said.

That means Aldi doesn't take credit cards or checks for grocery purchases; only cash, debit cards or Lone Star Cards are accepted to cut processing fees.

Aldi has plenty of competition — including Walmart, Tom Thumb, Kroger and Albertsons — all of which are already locked in a fierce competition for your shopping dollar.

In the early 1990s, the Food Lion chain came to North Texas with a concept similar to Aldi's: Lower prices and smaller stores with a limited product selection. Food Lion exited the market a few years later after failing to be competitive with established grocers.