Big box build-out: Major retailers announce multiyear expansion plans

In 2021, some experts were predicting a “retail apocalypse” involving the closure of tens of thousands of stores over the next five years. Three years later, the industry is moving in a decidedly different direction. Since the beginning of 2024, several major retailers have revealed ambitious plans to open hundreds of new stores in the coming years.

According to a recent Coresight report, openings are on track to outpace closings for the third year in a row.

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the biggest build-outs:

Let’s start with some of the major players: In addition to its ongoing remodeling spree, Walmart plans to build or convert 150 stores over the next five years, marking a reversal of a slowdown in expansions that began in 2016, as the retail giant focused its capital investment on building out its e-commerce capabilities to compete with Amazon.

Hot on Walmart’s tail is rival Target, which plans to open 300 new stores over the next decade. In a Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Brian Cornell said the new locations would be “mostly full-size stores,” just months after the company shut down several small-format stores, blaming high levels of retail theft.

In the grocery category, Aldi’s expansion plans might be the most ambitious. The German discount grocer aims to open more than 800 stores across the US by 2028

Kroger, meanwhile, plans to open, expand, or relocate 30 stores in 2024. Its planned merger with Albertsons would expand its store count to 5,000, but the FTC recently sued to block the deal.

In the discount category, Burlington Stores is projecting 100 net new stores in FY 2024, and Ross Stores plans to add approximately 90 new locations this fiscal year. Conversely, Dollar Tree, owner of Family Dollar, plans to close 1,000 locations starting this year.