Store Openings ’25: Skechers, ALDI

Two high-profile companies have detailed their store-opening plans for the coming year. They are:

Skechers (Los Angeles), which expects to open 180-200 stores worldwide in the coming year. COO David Weinberg disclosed that number during a call with stock analysts reviewing the footwear company’s financial results for its year ended Dec. 31.

During that call, Weinberg noted that Skechers ended the year with 5296 Skechers stores worldwide, of which 1787 are company-owned locations, including 610 in the United States. Other accomplishments included opening its first three company-owned locations in the Philippines, its first such store in Prague and its first Performance flagship in Canada’s West Edmonton Mall.

As for its financial results, for its fiscal 2024, the company notched record sales of $8.97 billion, a year-over-year increase of 12.1%; and diluted earnings per share of $4.16, a year-over-year increase of 19.2%.

Meantime, discount grocer ALDI (Batavia, Ill.) has unveiled plans to open more than 225 new store locations in 2025 as part of the next phase of its five-year national growth strategy. This is the most stores ALDI will open in one year in its nearly 50-year U.S. history.

The new stores will open through a combination of organic growth and converting select Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores to the ALDI format. In total, ALDI will convert approximately 220 Southeastern Grocers locations to the ALDI format through 2027.

As part of the strategy, ALDI has closed a transaction to divest approximately 170 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores that are not part of the ALDI conversion plan to a consortium including C&S Wholesale Grocers, Southeastern Grocers senior leadership and private investors. That transaction allows ALDI to create a focused conversion portfolio in the Southeast as it progresses its expansion plans across the country, the grocer said.

In addition to its Southeast expansion, ALDI plans to add to its established footprint in the Northeast and Midwest regions, grow its presence in the West with more stores in Southern California and Arizona, and enter new markets, including Las Vegas.