The Paris ALDI store held its grand opening on Thursday with drawings for prizes, gift certificates, and samples of food offered by the grocery chain.
Directly competing with stores such as Walmart and Kroger, ALDI aims to bring consumers quality food at lower prices, one of the main goals outlined by Christopher Wille, ALDI’s director of operations.
“We’re extremely excited to be in the market,” said Wille. “What you’re going to find about us is not just that we have low prices on all our products; we have extremely great quality on all our food.”
Wille also talked about the benefits employees can expect from ALDI, stating they receive a high hourly wage and even retirement benefits.
“We have over 20 employees on staff right now, our sales associates make $11.50 an hour,” Wille said, “and have full benefits: medical, vision, dental, and 401(k).”
As a testament to ALDI’s low prices, shopper Brandy Nixon left ALDI with a cart filled with groceries. She says she spent $85, grateful for ALDI’s offerings now that the store is open.
“At other stores, I’d spend $150 for five bags of groceries,” said Nixon. “It is absolutely a blessing for this community.”
Article and photo by Matthew Ablon