Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned
discount supermarket
A discount store or discounter offers a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down co ...
chains
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries.
The chain was founded by brothers
Karl Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austria ...
and
Theo Albrecht
Theodor Paul Albrecht (; 28 March 1922 – 24 July 2010) was a German entrepreneur. He established the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Karl Albrecht. In 2010, Theo was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the 31st richest person in the worl ...
in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in
Mülheim
Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...
.
In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a
syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont),
which is pronounced . In Germany, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966, although both divisions' names may appear as if they were a single enterprise with certain
store brand
A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...
s or when negotiating with
contractor companies. The formal business name of Aldi Nord is Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co., while the formal business name of Aldi Süd is ALDI SÜD Dienstleistungs-SE & Co. Each company is owned and operated independently, but do have contractual business with one another.
Aldi's German operations consist of Aldi Nord's 35 individual regional companies with about 2,500 stores in western, northern, and eastern Germany, and Aldi Süd's 32 regional companies with 1,900 stores in western and southern Germany. Internationally, Aldi Nord operates in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
countries,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, while Aldi Süd operates in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. Both Aldi Nord (as
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...
) and Aldi Süd (as Aldi) also operate in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
with 1,600 stores between them as of 2017,
and the U.S. is the only country to have both Aldi companies operating outside of Germany. In 2020, it was reported that Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been planning since 2018 to merge the two branches by 2022 in a bid to reduce redundancies and raise efficiency.
History
Karl Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austria ...
and
Theo Albrecht
Theodor Paul Albrecht (; 28 March 1922 – 24 July 2010) was a German entrepreneur. He established the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Karl Albrecht. In 2010, Theo was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the 31st richest person in the worl ...
's mother opened a small store in a suburb of
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
, Germany, in 1913.
Their father was employed as a miner and later as a baker's assistant. Karl and Theo were born in 1920 and 1922 respectively. Theo Albrecht completed an apprenticeship in his mother's store, while Karl Albrecht worked in a
delicatessen
Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...
.
Karl Albrecht took over a food shop formerly run by F. W. Judt and later served in the
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 1945, the brothers took over their mother's business and soon opened another retail outlet nearby.
By 1950, the Albrecht brothers owned 13 stores in the
Ruhr Valley
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
.
The brothers' idea was to subtract the legal maximum rebate of 3% before sale. The market leaders at the time, which often were
co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
s, required their customers to collect rebate stamps and to send them at regular intervals to reclaim their money. The Albrecht brothers also rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from their shelves, cutting costs by neither advertising nor selling fresh produce and keeping the size of their retail outlets small.
The brothers split the company in 1960, over a dispute about whether they should sell cigarettes. Karl believed they would attract shoplifters while his brother did not. At the time, they jointly owned 300 shops with a cash flow of
DM90 million yearly. In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi—short for Albrecht-Diskont, which translates into English as "Albrecht Discount". Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966.
The individual groups were originally owned and managed jointly by the brothers. After the death of Theo's son Berthold, Aldi Nord continues to be controlled by the Albrecht family through its Markus, Lukas and Jakobus foundations, which hold a combined 80.5 per cent of the company's issued capital.
Aldi started to expand internationally in 1967, when Aldi Süd acquired the grocery chain Hofer in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
; Aldi Nord opened its first stores abroad in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 1973, and other countries followed. In 1976, Aldi Süd opened its first store in the United States in
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, and, in 1979, Aldi Nord acquired
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...
.
After
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
and
the fall of the Iron Curtain, Aldi experienced a rapid expansion. The brothers retired as CEOs in 1993; control of the companies was placed in the hands of
private family foundations, the Siepmann Foundation (Aldi Süd) and the Markus, Jakobus and Lukas Foundation (Aldi Nord, Trader Joe's).
Business organization
Germany
![Aldi equator](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Aldi_equator.svg)
The Aldi Nord group currently consists of 35 independent regional branches with approximately 2,500 stores. Aldi Süd is made up of 31 companies with 1,900 stores. The border between their territories is commonly known as ″Aldi-Äquator″ (literally: Aldi equator) and runs from the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
via
Mülheim an der Ruhr
Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...
,
Wermelskirchen
Wermelskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Wärmelßkirrshe'') is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m).
Coat of arms
...
,
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
,
Siegen
Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...
, and
Gießen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
east to just north of
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
.
The former
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
is served by Aldi Nord, except for one Aldi Süd in
Sonneberg
Sonneberg in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg.
Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home to ...
,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
, whose regional office is in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. The regional branches are organised as
limited partnerships
A limited partnership (LP) is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership except that while a general partnership must have at least two general partners (GPs), a limited partnership must have at least one GP and at least one limited p ...
with a regional manager for each branch who reports directly to the head office in
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
(Aldi Nord) or
Mülheim an der Ruhr
Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...
(Aldi Süd).
In December 2002, a survey conducted by the German market research institute
Forsa found 95% of
blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...
s, 88% of
white-collar worker
A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or other administrative setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, ...
s, 84% of public servants, and 80% of self-employed Germans shop at Aldi.
One of Aldi's direct competitors is
Lidl
Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
.
Internationally
![Aldi world map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Aldi_world_map.svg)
The Aldi group operates over 10,000 stores worldwide. Aldi Nord is responsible for its stores in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, France, Poland, Spain, Denmark, and Portugal, and also operates the
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...
markets in the United States. Aldi Süd's responsibilities are in the United States (operating under the ''Aldi'' name), Austria and
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
(as ''Hofer''), Italy, Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, Hungary, China and Switzerland. Aldi Süd's first Switzerland store opened in 2005, while it has operated in Hungary since 2007. Aldi Süd had invested an estimated €800m ($1bn; £670m) in Greece from November 2008 until pulling out on 31 December 2010.
While Aldi Nord has renamed its Dutch and Belgian subsidiaries ''Combi'' and ''Lansa'' to the ''Aldi Markt/Aldi Marché'' brand, Aldi Süd tries to maintain a regional appearance, branding its stores ''Aldi Süd'' in Germany, ''Aldi Suisse'' in Switzerland, and ''Hofer'' in Austria and Slovenia.
![Aldi UK Market Share Kantar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Aldi_UK_Market_Share_Kantar.svg)
Aldi launched in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, on 5 April 1990, when it opened its first store there in
Stechford,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, using the wholly owned English registered company of Aldi Stores Limited. In October 2013, Aldi opened the 300th store in Great Britain. By 2017, Aldi had over 600 stores there and was opening them at a rate of more than one a week. A report in February 2020, indicated that the company was operating approximately 874 outlets in the UK and planned to have 1,200 stores by 2025. In 2022, Aldi stores in Great Britain reported that due to the annual
Veganuary
Veganuary is an annual challenge run by a UK nonprofit organisation that promotes and educates about veganism by encouraging people to follow a vegan lifestyle for the month of January. Since the event began in 2014, participation has increased ...
challenge its sales of plant-based foods were 500% higher in January that year than in January 2021. In September 2022 it was confirmed that Aldi had overtaken Morrisons to become Britain's 4th largest supermarket with a 9.3% market share.
Aldi entered the Irish market in 1999. In March 2022, its 150th store in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
opened in
Cahersiveen
Cahersiveen (), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a town on the N70 national secondary road in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2016 CSO census, the town had a population of 1,041.
Geography
Cahersiveen is on the slopes of 376-metre-high Bentee, an ...
(Co Kerry).
![ALDI Süd in Macclesfield, UK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/ALDI_S%C3%BCd_in_Macclesfield%2C_UK.jpg)
Aldi opened its first store in Sydney in 2001, and has grown rapidly since, maintaining a 12.6% market share as of early 2016. It has still yet to open any stores in Northern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in major cities such as
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
,
Cairns
Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...
or
Darwin, much to the frustration of the population. Financial website Canstar rated Australia's supermarkets based on the feedback of 2,897 consumers who had visited one in the past month with Aldi coming out on top. By August 2019, there were 540 Aldi stores in Australia; Aldi had approximately 11 percent share of the grocery market in Australia in the previous year with sales of $9.2 billion. Aldi opened 26 new stores in 2018, but Aldi Australia CEO Tom Daunt predicted that "store growth would be slower in the future".
Aldi Limited (
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
) was incorporated in 2001. The company did not expect to open stores in the near future as of 2019. A news report in January 2020, indicated that the country did not have enough consumers to warrant new supermarket chains; the report predicted that such stores would not arrive "any time soon".
Aldi Süd expanded to the United States under the Aldi banner, having expanded throughout the
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
and
Midwestern
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
U.S. Aldi Süd revealed expansion plans in 2015, and expanded into the
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
market, where Aldi Nord's
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...
is based. Reports in August 2019, stated that the company was in the process of using a $3.4 billion investment in order to expand to 2,500 stores in the country by year end 2022; it was also investing an extra $1.6 billion to renovate 1,300 of its US stores. By February 2020, there were over 1,900 Aldi stores in 36 states. Groceries ordered on-line could be delivered to homes in the areas covered by 95 percent of stores in the U.S.; this service was provided in conjunction with
Instacart
Instacart is an American company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app. The service allows customers to order groceries from participatin ...
.
Aldi Süd opened its first 10 stores in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
on 1 March 2018. In the first year of operation, 51 outlets were opened. By October 2019, there were 66 stores in northern Italy. At that time, the company was planning to open 80 new stores in the country as well as a distribution centre in Landriano.
In mid-2019, Aldi Süd opened two small, upscale, stores in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
. Two more were opened in late-2019.
This is the first of a planned one hundred such locations in the city. The company stated that "the emphasis is on fresh produce and ready meals".
In February 2021, Aldi said that it is planning to open 100 new stores in 2021, in the United States (Arizona, California, Florida and the Northeast region).
In March 2021, Aldi announced plans to expand to
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
and open 15 stores within a year.
In January 2022, Aldi launched its Shop&Go concept in Greenwich, London.
On 9 December 2022, Aldi Nord issued a press release stating that Aldi is withdrawing from Denmark after 45 years of operations there. 114 of the chain's total of 188 stores will be taken over by Norwegian competitor
Rema 1000
REMA 1000 (Bokmål: Rema tusen) is a multinational no-frills soft-discount grocery chain owned entirely by the Reitan Group (Reitangruppen). REMA is a short for ' (Reitan Food), referring to Odd Reitan (founder of the company). ''1000'' refer ...
.
Geographic distribution
Business practices
On 9 August 2018, Aldi announced plans to expand its product selection by offering more organic, fresh and easy-to-prepare meals. Aldi also aims to expand to about 2,500 stores in the United States by 2022.
On 18 September 2018, Aldi announced its intent to offer grocery delivery in the United States. Aldi began testing grocery delivery in 2017 in select cities such as
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, and
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.
On 4 March 2020, Aldi announced that all its suppliers must utilize recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging by 2025.
In-store layout
![Aldi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Aldi.jpg)
Aldi stores are noted as examples of so-called
no-frills stores that often display a variety of items at discount prices, specializing in staple items, such as food,
beverage
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...
s, toilet paper, sanitary articles, and other inexpensive household items. Many of its products are
own brands, with the number of other brands usually limited to a maximum of two for a given item.
Aldi mainly sells
exclusively produced, custom-branded products (often very similar to and produced by major brands) with brand names including ''Grandessa, Happy Farms, Millville, Simply Nature,'' and ''Fit & Active''.
Branded products carried include
HARIBO
Haribo ( ) is a German confectionery company founded by Hans Riegel Sr.. It began in Kessenich, Bonn, Germany. The name "Haribo" is a syllabic abbreviation formed from Hans Riegel Bonn. The company created the first gummy candy in 1960 in the for ...
in Germany,
Knoppers in Belgium, France, and the United States,
Marmite
Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...
and
Branston Pickle
Branston is an English food brand best known for the original Branston Pickle, a jarred pickled chutney first made in 1922 in the village of Branston near Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire by Crosse & Blackwell. The Branston factory proved to ...
in Great Britain; and
Vegemite
Vegemite ( ) is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1922.
A spread for sandwiches, ...
and
Milo
Milo may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine
*'' Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg
* ''Milo'' (video game), a first-person adventure-puzzle computer ga ...
in Australia. Unlike most shops, Aldi does not accept manufacturers'
coupon
In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.
Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods
or by retailers, to be used in r ...
s, although some US stores successfully experimented with store coupons (e.g. $10 off a $25 purchase).
In addition to its standard assortment, Aldi has weekly special offers, some of them on more expensive products such as electronics, tools, appliances, or computers. Discount items can include clothing, toys, flowers and gifts. Special offers have limits on quantities, and are for one week. Aldi's early computer offers in Germany, such as a
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
in 1987, resulted in those products selling out in a few hours.
Aldi is the largest
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
retailer in Germany. Some Australian stores now sell alcoholic beverages. Some US stores also sell alcoholic beverages, mainly beer and wine, where permitted by local and state laws.
![Aldi Local Balham 20190322](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Aldi_Local_Balham_20190322.jpg)
In March 2019, Aldi Süd launched a smaller format store in the UK called Aldi Local, with first store in
Balham
Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...
, south London. The store has a slightly smaller number of products than a regular Aldi, with a preference for fresh products, has no trolleys instead having two sizes of baskets and without the notable "middle aisle" of weekly offers. Aldi stores do not play music, except for some stores in Scotland that play Christmas music during December. Some of them have a PA system for announcements (not commercials) but most of them do not have any audio system. In The Netherlands and Belgium, Aldi also sells a-brands.
In 2021, Aldi UK opened its first
cashierless store
A cashierless store (also called a till-less store, checkout-free store or Just walk out store) is a store which allows customers to shop their products and leave without having to wait in line and pay at a checkout. Stores use a combination of te ...
in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
.
Payments
Until 2004, Aldi stores accepted only cash (since then, German stores have accepted domestic
Girocard
girocard is an interbank network and debit card service connecting virtually all German ATMs and banks. It is based on standards and agreements developed by the German Banking Industry Committee.
German girocards are usually co-branded with Mast ...
debit card
A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...
s, nowadays they also accept most common payment options like Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay and more). Debit cards are also accepted in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, Slovenia, and Hungary. Aldi stores in the United States allow supplemental nutritional assistance program payments via
EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) but does not support payments through the
WIC
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an American federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for healthcare and nutritio ...
program (Women, Infants, and Children).
Stores in Ireland accept
EMV
EMV is a payment method based on a technical standard for smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines which can accept them. EMV stands for " Europay, Mastercard, and Visa", the three companies that created th ...
(Chip and PIN) Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Visa Electron
Visa Electron is a debit card product that uses the Visa payment system. It is offered by issuing banks in every country with the exception of Canada, Australia, Argentina, Ireland and the United States. The difference between Visa Electron an ...
,
Visa Debit
Visa Debit is a major brand of debit card issued by Visa in many countries around the world. Numerous banks and financial institutions issue Visa Debit cards to their customers for access to their bank accounts. In many countries the Visa Debit ...
(formerly Delta) and
Maestro
Maestro (; from the Italian ''wikt:maestro#Italian, maestro'' , meaning "wikt:master, master" or "teacher") is an honorific title of respect (plural: maestros or maestri). The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music ...
debit cards are also accepted. Card, phone and contactless payments are not subject to any surcharge and phone payments can be used for any amount, when authenticated with biometrics. AmEx is not accepted and non-chip & PIN cards (no longer used in Ireland) cannot be processed.
All four major credit cards are accepted in the United States as of 1 March 2016 (MasterCard, Visa,
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
and
Discover Card
Discover is a credit card brand issued primarily in the United States. It was introduced by Sears in 1985. When launched, Discover did not charge an annual fee and offered a higher-than-normal credit limit, features that were disruptive to the e ...
).
Electronic Benefit Transfer cards are also accepted in the United States.
Outside of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, the United States, the Netherlands and France, Aldi generally does not accept
credit cards
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
, though Aldi Australia accepts
MasterCard and
Visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
for a 0.5% surcharge. From the beginning of Aldi's operations in France, all
credit cards (referred to in French as ''Carte Bleue'') (Visa, American Express or MasterCard) were accepted due to the French banking system. Aldi has accepted Visa/MasterCard without surcharge throughout Great Britain from October 2014, which had previously been accepted only in Scotland, and throughout Germany from September 2015.
Aldi Suisse became one of the first companies to accept the
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It is supported on these Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It digitizes and can replace a credit ...
contactless payment
Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC, e.g. Samsun ...
system on 7 July 2016.
[Apple cranks up heat on PayPal by finally bringing Apple Pay to websites](_blank)
Digital Trends
Advertising policy
Aldi has a policy in Germany of not advertising, apart from a weekly newsletter of special prices called "Aldi informs" that is distributed in stores and by direct mail and often printed in local newspapers. It claims this is a cost saving that can be passed on to consumers. In Germany, Aldi has never used an external advertising agency.
In the United States, it advertises in newspapers and on television, as well as print ads distributed in stores, and via the Internet.
In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, print and television ads have appeared since May 2005. And since 2016, Aldi began producing a series of Christmas adverts to rival
John Lewis' featuring a carrot named Kevin.
In Australia, television advertising is common and the current ads are listed on the Australian website.
In Belgium, print, radio and television ads started appearing in late 2017. These ads were based on the positive results of taste-tests where the chain pitted its own products against common name-brand products.
Logos and branding
![AldiWorldwideLogo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/AldiWorldwideLogo.svg)
The two stores Nord and Süd have distinct logos with Nord displaying the entire 'A' for Aldi while Süd unveiled a logo in 1982 which displays only half. In 2006, Aldi Süd modified the logo slightly and then in March 2017, unveiled a new logo which removed the blue box line around the artistic 'A' and revealed a more rounded, 3D look for the logo as well as a new font for the word 'ALDI', further differentiating it from the Aldi Nord logo which had shared the same font for the brand until then.
Reputation
In the United Kingdom, Aldi has won ''Supermarket of the Year'' two years in a row (2012/13), and in 2013, Aldi won the
Grocer of the Year Award. In February 2015, Aldi narrowly lost to
Waitrose
Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...
for the title of Supermarket of the Year 2015. In April 2015, Aldi overtook Waitrose to become the United Kingdom's sixth-largest supermarket chain.
In February 2017, Aldi overtook the
Co-op
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
to become the United Kingdom's fifth largest supermarket chain. In May 2017, Aldi lost out to
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
for the title of Supermarket of the Year 2017 (published by the magazine ''
Which?
''Which?'' is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights and offering independen ...
''). According to research firm Kantar Worldpanel, nearly two-thirds of households within the UK now visit an Aldi or Lidl branch at least once every 12 weeks.
Between 2012 and 2019, Aldi's UK operations became "
carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...
", with investments in
solar,
green energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenho ...
, energy efficiency and
offsets reducing
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
by 53 per cent per square meter of sales floor.
In the United States, due to the relatively low staffing of Aldi locations compared to other supermarket chains, Aldi has a reputation of starting employees out at significantly higher than
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
, unusual among American supermarkets.
In Ireland, Aldi has been accused of a "lack of corporate responsibility" to their farmer suppliers by the
Irish Farmers' Association
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) ( Irish: ''Feirmeoirí Aontaithe na hÉireann'') is a national organisation to represent the interests of all sectors of farming in the Republic of Ireland. The IFA is Ireland's largest farming representative ...
.
Aldi was named 2018 "Retailer of the Year" by Supermarket News.
Subsidiaries and joint ventures
Subsidiaries include the mobile network operator "Aldi Talk", the alcoholic drink brand "Aldi Alcohol", and petrol station retailer "Diskont". Multimedia products such as
CD-R
CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times.
CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the in ...
and
DVD-R
DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are optical disc recording technologies. Both terms describe DVD optical discs that can be written to by a DVD recorder, whereas only 'rewritable' discs are able to erase and rewrite data. Data is written ('burne ...
recordable media,
boombox
A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape recorder/players and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through ...
es,
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays DVDs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. Some DVD players will also play audio CDs. DVD players are connected to a television to wa ...
s,
digital cameras
A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...
,
camcorders
A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swap ...
, and
turntable
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
s are branded as "Tevion" and "Maginon".
Aldi Talk
Aldi has a
mobile virtual network operator
A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...
in Germany and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, called Aldi Talk, also known as "MEDIONmobile" (
service provider name). Aldi also operates a similar network in Australia using
Telstra
Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...
's
4G network, called Aldimobile. Aldimobile is also in Switzerland.
Its Austrian and Slovenian Hofer stores serve as distributor for HoT (Hofer Telekom).
Aldi Alcohol
Aldi sells low cost alcohol from its alcohol stores. Until March 2016, Aldi had an alcohol website serving the east coast of Australia. This has now been closed down, citing it wishes to focus on expanding the supermarket chain across Australia. In November 2019, Aldi announced same-day beer and wine delivery via a partnership with
Instacart
Instacart is an American company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app. The service allows customers to order groceries from participatin ...
.
Diskont
In Austria through its subsidiary Hofer, Aldi has a joint venture with the local petrol retailer
OMV Downstream GmbH, to create some
no frills petrol station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
s called Diskont.
The 85 stations in Austria are on or near the stores, providing
self-serve
Self-service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when making purchases. Aside from Automated Teller Machines, which are not limited to banks, and customer-operated supermarket check-out, labor-saving of which has been described as self ...
unleaded
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic com ...
or
diesel fuel
Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...
by card-operated pumps. These have been in operation since 2009.
Notes
References
External links
*
How a cheap, brutally efficient grocery chain is upending America's supermarkets– ''CNN''
"The long read – The Aldi effect: how one discount supermarket transformed the way Britain shops,"– ''The Guardian''
{{Authority control
Arts and crafts retailers
Retail companies established in 1913
Privately held companies of Germany
German brands
1913 establishments in Germany
Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia
Discount stores
Supermarkets of Australia
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Discount stores of the United States
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Albrecht family
Trader Joe's