IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
ALDI, the discount grocery store chain, will open an estimated 45 stores in Southern California starting in March of next year.
The chain, which is developing a regional headquarters and 800,400-square-foot warehouse-distribution center in Moreno Valley, announced its expansion plans in a statement released Friday.
The stores will be the company’s first in California.
About 25 of those stores are expected to be completed before July of next year. Another 20 are scheduled to be up and running by the end of 2016.
ALDI officials are scouting sites throughout Southern California, including Riverside and San Bernardino counties, but have yet to settle on exact locations.
Information about specific sites will be made available as the March launch date approaches, but as of now no sites have been selected, said Liz Ruggles, ALDI spokeswoman.
The Southern California stores, along with the facility in Moreno Valley, are expected to create about 1,100 jobs. New store associates will start at $13 an hour, and long-term associates will be eligible to earn up to $21 an hour.
Workers at the company’s warehouse-distribution/regional headquarters, which is being developed on 55 acres in the West Ridge Industrial Park, will start at $19 an hour. Those workers could earn up to $26 a hour, according to the statement.
All employees will average between 33 and 40 hours a week and be eligible for full benefits, including health insurance, dental coverage and participation in the company’s 401-K program.
ALDI Inc. is based in Batavia, Ill. It operates approximately 1,400 stores in 32 states. Most of those locations are between Kansas and the east coast.
The company’s move into Southern California is part of a five-year plan to open 650 more stores nationwide during the next five years. That expansion that will cost about $3 billion, according to the statement.
