It was only May of 2008 when the ALDI brand made its way into Cranston, but on Monday, the supermarket opened the doors of its second location within the city.

This marks the fifth Rhode Island location in the chain that started in this country in southeastern Iowa in 1976 and currently has more than 1,000 stores nationwide. ALDI, which is short for Albrecht Discount, was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in Germany in 1948.

Although the Cranston street store is not far from its Pontiac Avenue counterpart, Vice President of ALDI, Inc., Bruce Persohn, says the decision made sense.

“For us, we generally locate ourselves in densely populated areas. This particular area allowed us to not only service the northern part of Cranston but also allows us to service the southern part of Providence,” he said.

Moreover, customer counts at the first location have been steady and represent a positive trend Persohn said.

“I think as we open more stores in Rhode Island our brand becomes more popular and with that popularity is a better education of how we can provide savings to our customers,” he said.

ALDI is known for providing discounted items, and while the new 18,000 square-foot space is smaller than most supermarkets, there are approximately 1,400 items stocked regularly at all locations.

“What we tell all of our customers is you can expect to save 40 to 50 percent against the store brands of other traditional supermarkets,” Persohn said. “All of our products meet or exceed the quality of the national brand.”

There is also a double quality guarantee that refunds the customer’s money in the event of dissatisfaction, but also allows for an exchange of the item for a comparable one.

“There’s no risk in trying our products,” he said. “If you don’t like it we cheerfully refund it.”

That, paired with the average savings, has been good for business. Persohn went on to say that the recession has not hurt ALDI as hard as many other businesses.

“We feel that the economy has allowed us to get more customers to experience ALDI. It’s allowed more customers to look for ways to save money,” he said.

To get the word out on the new location, ALDI sent out direct mail and coupons, in addition to the standard weekly circulars already in place at their other stores. Persohn said the company’s priority is reaching out to the Cranston Street neighbors and letting them know what ALDI has to offer them.

On Monday, company executives joined the approximately 10 employees as residents were invited to sample products and tour the store. Persohn estimated that as many as 800 Rhode Islanders visited the new store.

On Tuesday, checkout lines were ready for customers.

Of the customers that have visited the new business, he also said that there was a mix of existing ALDI customers who now have a more convenient location and those who were new to the brand.

“We gave them an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the store,” he said.