State and local leaders gathered in Loxley this week for the official groundbreaking of a massive new ALDI distribution center, marking the German discount grocer’s first major foothold in South Alabama and setting the stage for dozens of new stores across the Gulf Coast in the next two years.
Governor Kay Ivey joined Loxley Mayor Richard Teal and other elected officials at the site to celebrate the start of construction on the 564,000-square-foot regional headquarters and distribution facility, a $100 million investment that ALDI says will create roughly 200 full-time jobs once it opens.
The Loxley facility will be ALDI’s sixth distribution center in the Southeast and is expected to be fully operational in 2022. Company officials say it will supply as many as 100 stores stretching across South Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, south Georgia and Mississippi, supporting the opening of up to 35 new retail locations along the Gulf Coast over the next couple of years.
Until now, ALDI’s Alabama presence has been concentrated well north of the Gulf Coast, with more than 30 stores already operating in the Montgomery, Birmingham and Huntsville areas. The Loxley hub represents the company’s first significant push into the southern part of the state, and property records show ALDI has already been acquiring land for future store sites in Fairhope, Spanish Fort and Foley.
Governor Ivey praised the project as a win for the region’s economy. “We welcome the company’s plans for a regional headquarters and distribution hub in Loxley, and we’re proud to stand behind ALDI’s commitment to bringing value to the people of Alabama and the Gulf Coast region,” she said at the ceremony.
Mayor Teal said city leaders were thrilled to land the project, which will rise near an existing ACE Hardware distribution center that has operated in Loxley since 2000. “We are eager for the new job opportunities that are to come for citizens as well as the economic growth and development for our community,” Teal said.
ALDI U.S. CEO Jason Hart said the investment reflects the company’s broader growth strategy even as many retailers navigated a difficult year. “We’re incredibly proud to continue growing in all aspects of our business, from opening new stores to enhancing our eCommerce offerings, especially in light of the challenges businesses have faced in the last year,” Hart said. “Our commitment to our shoppers, new and existing, is the same — we will do everything in our power to offer the lowest possible prices every day — and we look forward to supporting more communities across the country with amazing ALDI products at a value that can’t be matched.”
Founded in Germany, ALDI has grown rapidly across the United States in recent years and is on pace to become the country’s third-largest grocery retailer by store count by 2022. The company has leaned into that growth with an aggressive store expansion plan alongside investments in curbside pickup, which it plans to roll out to many of its locations this year as more shoppers turn to contactless and convenience-focused options.
For Baldwin County, the project adds to a wave of industrial and commercial investment that has followed the area’s rapid population growth. Local officials have pointed to the region’s location along major highway corridors and its proximity to the Port of Mobile as key advantages in attracting large-scale logistics operations like ALDI’s.
Once complete, the distribution center is expected to employ both warehouse and corporate staff, and the company says it will begin posting job openings on aldi.us as construction progresses toward the planned 2022 opening.
Local leaders say the project is likely to spur additional retail and residential development around Loxley as construction moves forward over the coming months.