The news: Aldi will open a store in New York City’s Times Square next year as part of its aggressive expansion strategy, per media reports.

The 25,000-square-foot shop will be located in The Ellery, a new luxury apartment building near the edge of the highly-trafficked neighborhood—making clear the discount grocer’s intentions of wooing more affluent shoppers as it grows its presence in major US cities.

Keeping up with the competition: Aldi isn’t the only discount grocer looking to take Manhattan: Lidl is also on an expansion tear, recently opening one outpost on the Lower East Side with two others planned for the Kips Bay and Chelsea neighborhoods. And both are competing with Trader Joe’s, which has 10 locations borough-wide (including one across the street from Lidl’s newest opening).

All three retailers are riding a wave of strong momentum, as their budget-friendly private labels and assortment of trendy products earn them visits—and loyalty—from cost-conscious shoppers.

• Visits to Aldi rose 7.1% YoY in the first six months of 2025, while Trader Joe’s saw an 11.9% bump and Lidl a more modest 4.9% increase, per Placer.ai. That far outpaces the broader grocery sector, where traffic rose just 1.8% YoY.
• The three grocers are also poised to benefit as shoppers scrutinize labels more closely, thanks to earlier commitments to avoid artificial dyes as well as a broad selection of healthier and organic products.

Our take: While Aldi must compete on multiple fronts—with fellow discounters like Trader Joe’s and Lidl as well as traditional grocers like Kroger—its Times Square store could give the chain fresh brand momentum. Not only will it get the retailer in front of a more affluent audience, it will also function as a billboard for the many tourists roaming the area, nudging them to visit their local Aldis on their return home and spreading its reach far beyond Manhattan.