Global round-up: expansion plans and Aldi’s multi-regional activity

Europe

Three retailers reveal expansion plans as Lidl strengthens non-grocery supply

Salling Group expands at home and abroad

Salling Group has completed the acquisition of Rimi Baltic, entering Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The retailer will form a new geographical Group Leadership Team to reflect this, with newly created roles for strategy and customer experience. Meanwhile, the Danish market leader opened the first of 33 stores it acquired from Coop Danmark. Most will be converted to the Netto discount concept.

Harriet Cohen, Senior Insight Analyst’s view:

Completing the acquisition of Rimi Baltic propels Salling Group up the ranking of Europe’s leading grocery retailers by revenue. This will drive its skill, scale, and importance to suppliers. We expect it to overtake both Colruyt and Jumbo by 2028. In Denmark, discount will remain Salling Group’s largest growth channel. Netto will deliver more than twice the incremental revenue of the retailer’s other banners over the next five years.

Carrefour’s ambitious expansion strategy for Spain

Jesús Bermejo, Carrefour Spain's director of proximity and franchising, claims the retailer's franchise model remains one of the company’s fundamental growth pillars in Spain. In 2025, the retailer plans to continue to focus on the profitability and sustainable growth of its franchisees, as well as opening stores in new locations, such as urban, rural and high-traffic tourist areas.

Lucy Beaumont, Senior Insight Analyst’s view:

Carrefour continues to focus on its successful franchise model. This is helping shift it to a capital-light operating model, which enables it to invest more in prices. The retailer has also identified opportunities to invest in high-traffic locations, such as train stations, opening stores under its Carrefour City banner to meet the needs of on-the-go shoppers.

Check out our global convenience trends 2025 report for insight on how the channel is evolving.

Aldi Nord expands URBAN store concept in Poland

Aldi’s new store concept is designed for more compact locations. The two-storey building features one floor for the main shop and parking on the other, optimising space while enabling shoppers to visit the store by car. The new store in Warsaw means Aldi operates five stores with this design in Poland, with plans to open more in future.

Michela Pearson, Insight Analyst’s view:

Discounters increasingly target urban locations to enter areas with heavy footfall. However, space constraints remain a challenge. While some other operators have opted to forego car parks in these locations, aiming to capture the ‘little and often’ basket, Aldi’s decision in Poland sees it target bigger baskets. Poland is a key market for expansion for Aldi Nord. It aims to operate 400 stores by the end of the year, versus 360 today. It is building a new 43,000 sq. m distribution hub in the country, set to be operational in early 2026, to support its expansion.

Lidl strengthens non-grocery supply chain

The German discounter’s shipping company, Tailwind, is investing over €500m to build five large container ships. The ships will transport goods from Asia to Europe, including from Vietnam, following a shift in purchasing volumes from China.

Dan Butler, Senior Insight Analyst’s view:

The non-grocery category has become a challenge for many retailers, due to increased costs for retailers and price competition from online operators. Lidl still sees its short-term promotions in non-grocery as a key footfall and margin driver and bringing more resilience to its supply from Asia will help it to remain competitive in the category.

‘Rethinking non-grocery’ is one of our five global discount trends for 2025.

Asia-Pacific

DFI divests to focus on growth channels, Aldi Australia hits 600 stores, and Don Don Donki brings back plastic bags

DFI sells its stake in Robinsons Retail Holdings back to the company

Scott Price, Group Chief Executive of DFI Retail Group says:

This transaction represents a significant step in our evolution as an operating company, enabling us to redeploy capital to support growth and enhance shareholder returns across our subsidiary businesses.

Stephanie Leung, Insight Analyst’s view:

DFI Retail Group’s recent divestments, including its stakes in Yonghui Superstores in China, Hero Supermarket in Indonesia, and its Singapore food business, signal a clear shift in strategic focus. It is a bold but positive move to exit underperforming supermarket ventures, to enable it to invest resources in higher-growth areas, such as health and beauty through Guardian and Mannings, as well as convenience with 7-Eleven.

Aldi hits 600-store mark in Australia

The discounter entered Australia in 2001 with two stores and now, according to Deepend, 88% of Australians live within 20km of an Aldi store. The latest store in Wright, Canberra, is 1,078 sq. m, and has self-checkouts, a modern interior design, simple layout and nearby underground parking spaces. Jordan Lack, Aldi Australia’s Chief Commercial Officer, highlights the benefits of local partnerships with Australian suppliers:

We have seen first-hand the scale at which some of our Business Partners have been able to expand thanks to our long-standing relationships.

Tan Soo Eng, Senior Insight Analyst’s view:

In recent years, Aldi in Australia has been opening slightly bigger stores, taking them to about 1,000 sq. m from 800 sq. m. This creates a more comfortable shopping environment and more space for its popular “Special Buys”, which help to drive profitability.

Read more about Aldi and other stores in Australia in our Best of the store: Australia 2025 report.

Don Don Donki provides biodegradable plastic bags in Singapore

The Japanese discounter stopped providing shoppers in Singapore with disposable plastic bags in October 2024 due to environmental reasons. However, in May 2025, following shopper feedback, it reintroduced plastic bags, which are now biodegradable. It charges SGD0.05 (US$0.04) for a bag, in line with local regulations that require charging for bags in large grocery retail chains.

Jarred Neubronner, Senior Insight Analyst’s view:

Don Don Donki has balanced sustainability initiatives and is catering to shoppers’ needs well. Not providing shoppers with the chance to purchase bags would have impacted Don Don Donki’s sales, as some do not bring bags, so not having them would have limited the opportunity to grow basket sizes. Nevertheless, Don Don Donki can do more in its sustainability push in future, such as providing non-plastic alternatives and educating shoppers about the benefits of bringing bags.

North America

Change at the top for Aldi US, Walgreens restarts micro-fulfilment roll out, and Korean retailer plans US market entry

Aldi appoints new CEO in the US

The discounter has chosen its current COO, Atty McGrath, to replace Jason Hart, on 1 September. Hart, who has led the US business for a decade, will remain at Aldi, transitioning to group COO at Aldi Sud in Austria and joining Aldi Sud’s executive board. McGrath has spent over 20 years at Aldi, with many years spent across leadership roles.

Oliver Butterworth, Senior Insight Analyst’s view:

McGrath takes charge at a pivotal time for Aldi, as it looks to build on its recent strong performance, maintain its aggressive expansion plans, and grow its market share. The discounter has opened 55 stores as of May 2025, with 225 stores planned for the year. While Aldi continues to strengthen its presence in existing US markets, reaching customers in new ones is its priority. Millions of US consumers will welcome Aldi’s expansion as they seek out value against a challenging and inflationary economic backdrop.

See how US retailers provide greater value in our In-store excellence: USA 2025 report.

Walgreens grows micro-fulfilment network

The drugstore operator opened its 12th automated MFC in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The business paused the expansion of these in October 2023 to optimise the productivity of existing units, and as the last-mile experience was not where it wanted it to be. This marks the first opening since then. The new unit aims to improve Walgreens’ performance and shipping volumes. The MFC will service approximately 200 Walgreens stores in the Midwest and can automate roughly 13m prescriptions annually.

Oliver Butterworth, Senior Insight Analyst’s view:

In January (2025), Tim Wentworth, Walgreens CEO, announced plans to rekindle the expansion of its micro-fulfilment centres, with plans for these to service 6,000 stores by the end of the year. With this 12th opening, the MFCs now service 5,000, suggesting we could see further openings this year. MFCs now handle an impressive 40% of Walgreens’ prescription volume.

CU becomes the first Korean convenience store retailer to enter Hawaii

The first store is set to open in October 2025 and will operate under a master franchise agreement with Hawaii-based CU LLC. CU, a leading Korean convenience store chain, plans to expand into America, with Hawaii as its entry point. CU will showcase its Korean heritage by localising Korean-style ready-to-eat meals with an American twist.

Sabrina Wong, Analyst’s view:

Korean retailers are keen to expand into foreign markets as their home market is saturated. By riding the K-pop wave and with CU’s differentiated range, it could drive significant footfall. However, challenges lie in driving return visits, and CU must offer services or products to maintain its sales if and when interest in ‘all things Korea’ dies down.