BATAVIA, IL - Aldi is not through yet in its mission to disrupt the U.S. grocery industry. The company has revealed it will be investing upwards of $36 million into the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania market. In addition to targeting the area as part of its plan of spending $1.6 billion on remodeling existing stores, the German-based retailer has also committed to opening new locations before the year is up.

Just this Wednesday, Aldi held a reopening for its newly remodeled store in Robinson, a township to the west of Pittsburgh. According to a report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, upgrades implemented during the remodel included a larger produce department, as well as wider aisles and increased meat, dairy, and bakery offerings. A focus of energy efficiency also informed new lighting and refrigeration upgrades. The store at Robinson is one of 36 stores in the region due to get a facelift by 2020, the source explained.

As of now, a new store in Frazer is the only one on the books, but Aldi predicts it to be opened before the year is up. In total, the retailer has more than 1,600 stores in 35 states, but by 2018, Aldi plans to increase that number by nearly 900 as U.S. consumers look towards more discount-focused grocery options.

“The U.S. is still under-penetrated by hard discounters, prompting accelerated growth by Aldi, Save-A-Lot, and now Lidl,” Jennifer Bartashus, a Bloomberg analyst, in a report. “Offering prices 15-30 percent below grocery stores, and up to 10 percent less than discount stores, they present a competitive threat to the likes of Kroger, Ahold Dehlaize, and Walmart.”

Where will Aldi target next in its mission to rise to the top of the U.S. retail landscape? AndNowUKnow has our ear to the ground.

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