Aldi opens in Bradenton

BRADENTON — Aldi opened its first store in Bradenton on Thursday as the discount supermarket chain continues its momentum to carve out a niche in Florida.

The nearly 17,000-square-foot store at 4705 Cortez Road W. is the 41st Aldi to open in Florida since September 2008.

Based in Batavia, Ill., Aldi’s 1,100 U.S. stores are primarily located in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and the Northeast. Over the past two years, however, the grocer has been aggressively expanding, trying to capture consumers who are becoming more thrifty in light of the recession.

“It’s all about great quality product at a great value,” said Dave Behm, divisional vice president for Aldi. “With the economy the way it is, people are looking to save any way they can.”

Behm says Aldi’s traditional store design and strategy is ideal for this economy.

The Aldi concept is to build stores typically one-third the size of a full-line supermarket and limit inventory to the grocery products people buy most often such as canned goods, meat, produce, milk and eggs. About 95 percent of the products are generic or less-recognized brands.

“We carry about 1,200 items and we sell them at about 40 percent lower than the full-line markets and 20 percent lower than the big box stores,” Behm said.

Just 30 minutes after Aldi opened its doors at 9 a.m., its aisles were packed with shoppers curious about the new grocer.

“I was just driving buy, saw it was opened and thought I’d stop in and see what they’re prices are like,” said Maxine Calandra, as she stood in line with her cart carrying items such as a 47-cent canned cream of corn, 25-cent tomato sauce and 79-cent bread. “Some items are cheaper than others.”

Aldi is one of a few retail chains to recently extend their reach into Bradenton for the first time.

The Indianapolis-based hhgregg opened a store at 4495 14th St. W. in October when it decided to expand into three new markets: Tampa Bay, Memphis and Richmond, Va.

Later this month, Gordon Food Service is scheduled to open at 4605 14th St. W. The Michigan-based wholesale grocer is looking to make a more pronounced mark in Florida since it entered the state in 2003.

To coincide with its plans for new store openings in Florida, Gordon Food Service in August opened a distribution facility in Plant City.

“This facility is in a prime location to support our rapid growth in Florida,” Jim Gordon, president of Gordon Food Service, said in a written statement.

Aldi made a fairly bold statement to its competitors with its entrance. The store is situated between Publix and Walmart, both of which are less than a mile away.

Over the past two years, Aldi has opened 14 stores in Tampa, Pinellas County and Clearwater, also positioning those to nearby Publix stores.

“As with any new retailer, customers get curious and may shop around at first. But our focus is on executing our strategy of service and savings the best we can,” said Shannon Patten, spokeswoman for Publix. “We wouldn’t change our business model regardless of who enters our market.”

Margi Benser, who shopped Aldi’s produce section Thursday, hopes consumers will benefit from close competition.

“Maybe we’ll see more sales from all the stores in this area,” Benser said.

Grace Gagliano, business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081.