German discount grocery giant Aldi will open stores in Middletown and Camden, DE on Thursday.
The stores are located on Bunker Hill Road in Middletown and 390 Walmart Drive in Camden.
Aldi is known for operating smaller stores with private label grocery products. The company has 1,400 locations in the U.S.
The two stores are the first for the company in Delaware. The company has operated a store for many years near the state line in Elkton, MD.
Aldi is not afraid to compete with Walmart, the world’s largest grocery chain, on price. Both Camden and Middletown have large Walmart stores.
The grocer first targeted lower income suburban areas, but more recently, moved into more affluent communities to target dollar-conscious shoppers.
As Market Watch reported, Aldi is also feeling pressure from dollar stores and even drug stores as shoppers have more options when it comes to buying groceries.
The no-fills company runs with lean staffing and pays workers above the minimum wage. It also charges for bags and use of a shopping cart,
The grocer is expected to see competition from a German rival, Lidl, which is building a distribution center west of the Delaware line in northeastern Maryland.
Lidl has been scouting sites in Dover, Newark and other areas in the region and is asking developers to submit proposals for store locations.
A branch of the merchant family that owns Aldi operates Trader Joe’s, a discount upscale grocer with a Delaware location in north Wilmington near the Pennsylvania line.
Trader Joe’s has been selective, opening less than 500 stores in the U.S. It has disappointed shoppers in many areas by not opening stores in areas such as Newark.
The profit potential of Trader Joe’s in the region is limited by liquor laws that bar sales in grocery stores.
In many states, Trader Joe’s attracts crowds with its deeply discounted wines that sometimes earn accolades from critics.