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Aldi

Aldi (stylised as ALDI[6]) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries.[7][8] The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in Mülheim.[9][10]

Not to be confused with Audi.

Company type

10 July 1946 (1946-07-10)
(split in two parts in 1960, renamed to Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd in 1962)[1]

Essen, Germany (Aldi Nord)
Mülheim, Germany (Aldi Süd)

12,596 (2022)

Aldi Nord: Increase 27 billion (2022)[2]
Aldi Süd: Increase€76 billion (2022)[3]

Aldi Nord: 72,811 (2022)[4]
Aldi Süd: 201,361 (2022)[5]

Trader Joe's (Aldi Nord)
Hofer (Aldi Süd)
Winn-Dixie (Aldi Süd)
Harveys Supermarkets (Aldi Süd)

In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont),[11] which is pronounced [ˈaldiː] . 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 brands 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 they do have contractual business with one another.[12]


Aldi's German operations consist of Aldi Nord's 35 individual regional companies with about 2,200 stores in western, northern, and eastern Germany, and Aldi Süd's 32 regional companies with 2,000 stores in western and southern Germany.[13] Internationally, Aldi Nord operates in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain, while Aldi Süd operates in Australia, Austria, China, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. In Austria and Slovenia, Aldi operates stores under the Hofer brand. Aldi Nord also owns the Trader Joe's grocery chain in the United States which operates separately from the group.[14][15] Aldi Süd announced in August 2023 that it will buy 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarkets in the southern United States.[16]

Reputation[edit]

In the United Kingdom, Aldi has won Supermarket of the Year two years in a row (2012/13),[96] and in 2013, Aldi won the Grocer of the Year Award.[97] In February 2015, Aldi narrowly lost to Waitrose 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.[98]


In February 2017, Aldi overtook the Co-op to become the United Kingdom's fifth largest supermarket chain.[99] In May 2017, Aldi lost out to Marks & Spencer for the title of Supermarket of the Year 2017 (published by the magazine Which?).[100] 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.[101]


Between 2012 and 2019, Aldi's UK operations became "carbon neutral", with investments in solar, green energy, energy efficiency and offsets reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 53 per cent per square meter of sales floor.[102]


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, unusual among American supermarkets.[103][104]


In Ireland, Aldi has been accused of a "lack of corporate responsibility" to their farmer suppliers by the Irish Farmers' Association.[105]


Aldi was named 2018 "Retailer of the Year" by Supermarket News.[106]


Australian trucking giant Scott's Refrigerated Logistics was plunged into receivership and liquidation on 3 March 2023 after going into voluntary administration that February. This sparked protests from the Transport Workers' Union who put the blame on ALDI Australia for increasing strains on the company[107] during the last few years of shortages and inflation.

Official website

CNN

How a cheap, brutally efficient grocery chain is upending America's supermarkets

The Guardian

"The long read – The Aldi effect: how one discount supermarket transformed the way Britain shops,"