Aldi Openings Delayed?

[ClownLoach]

Noticed two new Aldi stores are halted late in construction. Tustin, which is unusual in that it is head-to-head with Trader Joe's (usually they don't do this) is fully built out, fixtured, signed and 100% grand opening ready but they have stopped all work, shelves are bare, and they have barricaded the parking lot entrances so nobody can get in.

More interesting is Murrieta. This store is part of the new Costco center. The Murrieta Costco apparently had the highest grossing grand opening in the history of their US stores. Aldi is across from it and had pylon signs installed already, banners on the building "Aldi coming soon" etc. The pylon signs have now been removed, the banners are gone. But what indicates this is a long delay or cancelation is that all the windows on the front have been removed including their framing, and they're building walls to close off the entire storefront where the windows were going. The new Costco across the street from the site is preposterously busy, seems busier than the Temecula store now. Costco built this store to take pressure off Temecula and serve the fast growing east half of Murrieta along with Menifee. It has been so crazy busy that it had an exit line go past the checkouts a few weekends back. It has reinvigorated the other center across the 215 that had not been finished and now Home Depot, PetSmart, Ross and a movie theater are about to start construction to be neighbors with the existing SuperTarget and Tractor Supply. Not a location problem at all here, clearly a business decision to seriously delay new openings at Aldi. Is this happening anywhere else?

[storewanderer]

I know others here do not agree but I do not think Aldi is doing well in Southern California. Something is "off" with those stores compared to how Aldi is in the midwest.

However the situations you describe may be limited to these couple locations. This has happened with others during large scale expansions; for instance a new Walgreens in Grass Valley, CA had a cycle of events like you are describing but did eventually open (and has performed poorly).

I am actually curious what will happen to them long term in the west.

At least Grocery Outlet's large scale expansion seems to be successful.

For the sake of the Albertsons/Kroger, Aldi and its expansion is going to be a topic as to why Kroger/Albertsons should be allowed to merge so if Aldi's expansion is slowed or stopped out west that is going to be further evidence of why the merger should NOT be approved.

[ClownLoach]

I know others here do not agree but I do not think Aldi is doing well in Southern California. Something is "off" with those stores compared to how Aldi is in the midwest.

However the situations you describe may be limited to these couple locations. This has happened with others during large scale expansions; for instance a new Walgreens in Grass Valley, CA had a cycle of events like you are describing but did eventually open (and has performed poorly).

I am actually curious what will happen to them long term in the west.

At least Grocery Outlet's large scale expansion seems to be successful.

For the sake of the Albertsons/Kroger, Aldi and its expansion is going to be a topic as to why Kroger/Albertsons should be allowed to merge so if Aldi's expansion is slowed or stopped out west that is going to be further evidence of why the merger should NOT be approved.

The Tustin delay I would guess is staffing related as that is a very high cost of living area and every retailer struggles to maintain appropriate staffing, even salaried managers are hard to hire. The store is completely done and lit up but again barricaded. What's happening in Murrieta is going to be expensive; removing those large windowed storefronts and constructing walls to close off the building indicates that it is not going to open anytime soon; I would imagine that this is a minimum of 6 months to a year. Otherwise why literally construct such enclosing?

[storewanderer]

The Tustin delay I would guess is staffing related as that is a very high cost of living area and every retailer struggles to maintain appropriate staffing, even salaried managers are hard to hire. The store is completely done and lit up but again barricaded. What's happening in Murrieta is going to be expensive; removing those large windowed storefronts and constructing walls to close off the building indicates that it is not going to open anytime soon; I would imagine that this is a minimum of 6 months to a year. Otherwise why literally construct such enclosing?

I also do not understand delaying a location like Murrieta. It is an area with ongoing development and should be an area where Aldi does okay.

It is my understanding Grocery Outlet is still slated to open in Murrieta sometime before Thanksgiving.

Maybe they do not want to open at the same time as Grocery Outlet?

Thing is they are entirely different stores. Aldi has a pretty consistent staple mix. Grocery Outlet- you never know what you will get from time to time. Yes they will have staples, but you don't know what size, brand, etc. is going to be there from one week to the next.

[Bagels]

I know others here do not agree but I do not think Aldi is doing well in Southern California. Something is "off" with those stores compared to how Aldi is in the midwest.

However the situations you describe may be limited to these couple locations. This has happened with others during large scale expansions; for instance a new Walgreens in Grass Valley, CA had a cycle of events like you are describing but did eventually open (and has performed poorly).

I am actually curious what will happen to them long term in the west.

At least Grocery Outlet's large scale expansion seems to be successful.

For the sake of the Albertsons/Kroger, Aldi and its expansion is going to be a topic as to why Kroger/Albertsons should be allowed to merge so if Aldi's expansion is slowed or stopped out west that is going to be further evidence of why the merger should NOT be approved.

It seems Aldi is doing a lot better. There’s significantly more foot traffic in their stores, and they’ve stopped store-specific loss leaders – like selling eggs and milk for $1 less than Walmart. General merchandise moves quickly – previously, most everything was marked down once, and much of it two or more times. Weekly produce picks and (especially) meal deals sell quickly.

I rarely shop at Aldi’s, as I can get better values shopping at a mixture of Ralph’s and Albertson’s, and I find the quality of their produce to be much higher. I find the service here to be lacking - Aldi has a double guarantee – if you’re unsatisfied with a product, you’ll get a refund plus a replacement. A couple times we’ve tried to return produce within 5 days – for example, in February we bought a 5 lb. bag of apples for $8 that were rotted – and the cashiers will fight the return.
I remember my first trip into an Aldi in 2008 – loaves of bread were 10c, yogurt cuts 8c, a jar of peanut butter 49c, etc.
Everything was amazingly cheap! Of course, variety was limited – you could pick between white or wheat bread, and produce was limited to local, in-season varieties. Today, the stores are far more athletically pleasing and there’s a much wider product assortment – including a full variety of bakery, deli and produce offerings (previously, the only bakery products were frozen).

[storewanderer]

It seems Aldi is doing a lot better. There’s significantly more foot traffic in their stores, and they’ve stopped store-specific loss leaders – like selling eggs and milk for $1 less than Walmart. General merchandise moves quickly – previously, most everything was marked down once, and much of it two or more times. Weekly produce picks and (especially) meal deals sell quickly.

I rarely shop at Aldi’s, as I can get better values shopping at a mixture of Ralph’s and Albertson’s, and I find the quality of their produce to be much higher. I find the service here to be lacking - Aldi has a double guarantee – if you’re unsatisfied with a product, you’ll get a refund plus a replacement. A couple times we’ve tried to return produce within 5 days – for example, in February we bought a 5 lb. bag of apples for $8 that were rotted – and the cashiers will fight the return.
I remember my first trip into an Aldi in 2008 – loaves of bread were 10c, yogurt cuts 8c, a jar of peanut butter 49c, etc.
Everything was amazingly cheap! Of course, variety was limited – you could pick between white or wheat bread, and produce was limited to local, in-season varieties. Today, the stores are far more athletically pleasing and there’s a much wider product assortment – including a full variety of bakery, deli and produce offerings (previously, the only bakery products were frozen).

All discount formats are much busier than in the past. It is very noticeable. The stores that seem to really be hurting for traffic and where I see a lot fewer full carts are at Safeway and Raleys. Save Mart has the same stream of mostly small convenience type transactions and few carts like it always has, no impact there.

I am not surprised Aldi cashier argued with you about the quality guarantee, despite the policy being posted all over the place and on their website. They are like that regarding scan errors too, both the cashier and the "manager" I dealt with. Did you eventually get the replacement and refund? Did you have to contact their corporate office?

The nicer stores cost more money, the bakery thaw and serve program takes some labor to implement and causes some spoilage (vs. keeping it all frozen, no spoilage), the increased produce takes more labor to get right (I don't think they are getting it right in CA). I am wondering if these changes plus the higher costs of operating in California are causing them problems even if the stores have traffic.

I do think Aldi needs to stick around because it is pushing down grocery prices in SoCal.

[Bagels]

It seems Aldi is doing a lot better. There’s significantly more foot traffic in their stores, and they’ve stopped store-specific loss leaders – like selling eggs and milk for $1 less than Walmart. General merchandise moves quickly – previously, most everything was marked down once, and much of it two or more times. Weekly produce picks and (especially) meal deals sell quickly.

I rarely shop at Aldi’s, as I can get better values shopping at a mixture of Ralph’s and Albertson’s, and I find the quality of their produce to be much higher. I find the service here to be lacking - Aldi has a double guarantee – if you’re unsatisfied with a product, you’ll get a refund plus a replacement. A couple times we’ve tried to return produce within 5 days – for example, in February we bought a 5 lb. bag of apples for $8 that were rotted – and the cashiers will fight the return.
I remember my first trip into an Aldi in 2008 – loaves of bread were 10c, yogurt cuts 8c, a jar of peanut butter 49c, etc.
Everything was amazingly cheap! Of course, variety was limited – you could pick between white or wheat bread, and produce was limited to local, in-season varieties. Today, the stores are far more athletically pleasing and there’s a much wider product assortment – including a full variety of bakery, deli and produce offerings (previously, the only bakery products were frozen).

All discount formats are much busier than in the past. It is very noticeable. The stores that seem to really be hurting for traffic and where I see a lot fewer full carts are at Safeway and Raleys. Save Mart has the same stream of mostly small convenience type transactions and few carts like it always has, no impact there.

I am not surprised Aldi cashier argued with you about the quality guarantee, despite the policy being posted all over the place and on their website. They are like that regarding scan errors too, both the cashier and the "manager" I dealt with. Did you eventually get the replacement and refund? Did you have to contact their corporate office?

The nicer stores cost more money, the bakery thaw and serve program takes some labor to implement and causes some spoilage (vs. keeping it all frozen, no spoilage), the increased produce takes more labor to get right (I don't think they are getting it right in CA). I am wondering if these changes plus the higher costs of operating in California are causing them problems even if the stores have traffic.

I do think Aldi needs to stick around because it is pushing down grocery prices in SoCal.

She refused to give me a refund, and I couldn’t find any contact information on their website, so I gave up.

But you’re right - the “new” Aldi is a lot more expensive operation. In May, the Detroit Free Press went comparison shopping, and Aldi was $2.50 cheaper for 18 items vs. Meijer (private label brands), a 4% savings. 15 years ago, the savings would’ve been somewhere around 30% or even more.

[storewanderer]

She refused to give me a refund, and I couldn’t find any contact information on their website, so I gave up.

But you’re right - the “new” Aldi is a lot more expensive operation. In May, the Detroit Free Press went comparison shopping, and Aldi was $2.50 cheaper for 18 items vs. Meijer (private label brands), a 4% savings. 15 years ago, the savings would’ve been somewhere around 30% or even more.

I'm not really sure how much cheaper Aldi even is than Trader Joe's if we are talking like for like items... I'd rather have Lidl. I'm just not sure Lidl is profitable enough to ever expand across the US in the US. Aldi clearly has a formula that works (for now), though if they keep operating as poorly as I think the are in CA/AZ, the wheels may fall off. I know most here are very happy with their Aldi experiences in CA/AZ so maybe I have just had really bad luck.

If you call (630) 879-8100 during office hours in the IL time zone you will get to someone who you can describe the issue to. Then they will transfer you to someone else who will take a case, apologize to you many times, and tell you that you may or may not receive a call back from the district manager.

Cannot believe they refused a refund. I would be escalating this as high as necessary. If they are so arrogant to not respond, it would appear a false advertising complaint to the State of California would be appropriate. State of California used to be so much better with consumer protection stuff than they are now though....

I purchased last week from Seafood City and Island Pacific in Sacramento and noticed both had very tight return policies on their receipt- basically a 1 day return policy for anything perishable. Neither store prints this on their receipts in Las Vegas. Then I was in a small bakery in Sacramento where a customer was trying to return 3 items worth about $30 claiming they were "moldy" and wanted replacements. The packages were beat up (I wondered if they had come from a dumpster). Had no receipt and the bakery doesn't date anything (their mistake in my opinion). This place had signs up stating returns only within 2 days of purchase-exchange only- otherwise no returns. The customer wouldn't stop yelling about mold, in two different languages, to ensure the 10 other customers inside heard it again and again, and the clerk finally gave in and exchanged the items for like items. I was shocked as I did not expect that clerk to give in. So I think there may be some return fraud type issues going on with perishable items as of late.

Sam's Club still had a 2x money back guarantee on perishables before COVID, but it may have ended. The last time I tried to redeem it was on some poor produce and the employee tried to act like it didn't exist (too bad the policy was posted; when I noted that suddenly everything changed). Also the cash register has a return reason code that automatically processed it. They've since removed all of their policy signage and I haven't had another quality problem that warrants returning anything.

[HCal]

For some reason, I think that people think Aldi is far cheaper than it actually is. Maybe they remember the days when Aldi entered the state and sold eggs for 99 cents a dozen, or maybe it's all the advertising and boasting about low prices all over the store.

But I've found that Aldi is on par with other discount grocers (Grocery Outlet, Walmart, Winco) on price, and conventional supermarkets can often beat Aldi's prices when things are on sale. Nevertheless, Aldi seems to be developing a cult-like following here, similar to Trader Joe's. I see people posting Aldi stuff on social media and sharing recipes that use Aldi products. And these people aren't poor either, many are solidly middle class. Not sure what it is, but it seems to have a small but very loyal following. I wonder if it's like that in the midwest where Aldi has been around much longer.

[BillyGr]

For some reason, I think that people think Aldi is far cheaper than it actually is. Maybe they remember the days when Aldi entered the state and sold eggs for 99 cents a dozen, or maybe it's all the advertising and boasting about low prices all over the store.

But I've found that Aldi is on par with other discount grocers (Grocery Outlet, Walmart, Winco) on price, and conventional supermarkets can often beat Aldi's prices when things are on sale. Nevertheless, Aldi seems to be developing a cult-like following here, similar to Trader Joe's. I see people posting Aldi stuff on social media and sharing recipes that use Aldi products. And these people aren't poor either, many are solidly middle class. Not sure what it is, but it seems to have a small but very loyal following. I wonder if it's like that in the midwest where Aldi has been around much longer.

Also, in many places there aren't those other options (OK, Walmart is most anywhere, but not the other two you mentioned) and even something new like Lidl is limited in where you find them.

Thus, in many states/areas, Aldi is the only choice in that lower cost end of the field, so it seems likely people in those areas have a different view without being able to see other options.