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Aldi plans to substantially expand its U.S. footprint, with the discount grocery chain announcing Thursday that it will open hundreds of new stores across the U.S. over the next five years.

The company said it will add 800 new stores by the end of 2028, including newly built outlets as well as converted locations currently operating under different names that Aldi has acquired. Aldi operates 2,300 stores nationwide.

Aldi said the expansion will bring low-priced groceries to more communities across the U.S. as consumers increasingly look for ways to save money at the register. Although inflation has cooled, grocery prices remain stubbornly high. The cost of food eaten at home typically rises 2.5% per year, but in 2022 those prices shot up 11.4% and increased another 5% last year, according to government data.

Two-thirds of voters polled by Yahoo Finance/Ipsos late last year said the greatest toll from inflation had been in surging food prices, far outpacing the 1 in 10 who said they feel the impact through gas prices or higher rents. 

Driving Aldi’s expansion is organic growth, combined with its acquisition of Southeastern Grocers, which operates and its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores.

“Our growth is fueled by our customers, and they are asking for more Aldi stores in their neighborhoods nationwide,” Aldi CEO Jason Hart said in a statement Thursday.

The expansion will cost Aldi a total of $9 billion over five years, according to the company. Aldi said it will add nearly 330 stores across Northeastern and Midwestern states, as well as open new stores in Southern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas. 

—With reporting from the Associated Press