Aldi unveils plan to become third largest US grocer in five years

The planned $3.4 billion expansion will add nearly 900 additional stores and  25,000 new jobs, the company said in a statement.

It seems a bold move at a time when many traditional US retailers are battling to maintain revenues in the face of competition from online retailers such as Amazon.

“We're growing at a time when other retailers are struggling,” Aldi CEO Jason Hart said in a statement.

“We are giving our customers what they want, which is more organic produce, antibiotic-free meats and fresh healthier options across the store.”

By expanding to 2,500 stores by 2022, from the current 1,600, the Aldi would become the third largest US grocery store chain by store count, more than doubling its monthly customer base to 100 million.

The new investment plan builds on plan already underway to remodel 1,300 existing stores at a cost of $1.6 billion by 2020.