The Belgian conglomerate that owns Food Lion plans to open hundreds of Bottom Dollar grocery stores, part of a strategy to increase sales and compete with low-cost grocers such as Aldi and Wal-Mart.

Pierre-Olivier Beckers, CEO of Brussels-based Delhaize Group, discussed the plans with analysts at a meeting in Raleigh on Thursday. The plan represents a major expansion for Bottom Dollar, which currently has 53 stores clustered in a few cities.

Both Food Lion and Bottom Dollar are based in Salisbury, where Food Lion was founded. Delhaize, which operates thousands of supermarkets in the U.S., Europe and Indonesia, is in the midst of a "New Game Plan" to revive slumping sales.

"We are making a lot of progress in a difficult environment," Beckers said. "While we continue to be focused on the disciplined execution of the many projects that are ongoing, we are ready to accelerate our store opening plans."

Bottom Dollar offers lower prices in a smaller store, carrying 6,500 to 8,000 products. That's less than half of a typical Food Lion, which carries between 15,000 and 20,000 products. The first Bottom Dollar opened in High Point in 2005.

Discount chains such as Aldi, Costco and Wal-Mart are expected to grow faster than traditional supermarkets and account for about 37 percent of retail grocery sales by 2014. Such chains made up about 33 percent of retail sales in 2009, according to Delhaize.

Although Bottom Dollar was started in North Carolina, expansion of the chain has recently been focused on markets farther north. Bottom Dollar will have 29 stores in and around Philadelphia by year-end, and plans to open at least 10 more there in 2012. The next new market for Bottom Dollar is Pittsburgh, where the chain plans 14 new stores in the first quarter next year.

There are five Bottom Dollar stores in North Carolina, including locations in Mooresville and Hickory. Spokeswoman Christy Phillips Brown said the retailer isn't specifying where the new Bottom Dollar stores will open.

The stores will be part of a push by Delhaize to open some 450 new stores by 2014. Currently, Delhaize operates about 1,600 stores in the U.S., including the Harvey's, Hannaford and Sweetbay chains.

Delhaize has been tinkering with different store formats and areas, looking for the right combination for growth. After pioneering the Bloom concept in the Charlotte market, Delhaize recently converted Bloom stores in the Carolinas back to Food Lion, while expanding the Bloom chain around Washington, D.C.

The chain has also remodeled some 200 Food Lion stores in Raleigh and Chattanooga and plans to update all of the approximately 1,100 Food Lions by 2013.

In November, Delhaize reported that its third-quarter U.S. revenue was up 3.5 percent, to $4.9 billion. Sales at U.S. stores open a year or more rose 1.9 percent, but Delhaize said inflation accounted for most of that increase.