The Trader Joe’s folks won’t discuss it and the Aldi folks will get mad at you if you suggest it, but the two chains, both owned by the ALDI Group in Germany, seem to do a lot of the same things, including opening up in Queens.
After recently seeing a list here of some of the unusual rituals of shopping at Aldi, several readers called to note their least favorite and most annoying one had been overlooked.
Look out, Walmart. Aldi, the rapidly growing limited-assortment food chain, says it can beat your low prices any day: The company just released a study showing that Aldi shoppers spend up to 26% less than those who shop at discounters like Walmart, and up to 37% less compared to those who shop at traditional supermarkets.
At a time when other retailers are cutting back and the recession continues to deepen, select assortment discount grocer ALDI is celebrating its 1,000th U.S. store in West Haven, Conn. The new ALDI store opens Monday, March 23, at 535 Sawmill Road in West Haven, the grocer's first location in the city. The expansion comes on the heels of continued, steady growth for ALDI who is now serving more than 18 million customers per month in 29 states. . . . more
German Discount Chain's Emphasis on Store Brands Gets Lift From Economic Woes
German store chain Aldi is so cheap that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. closed its discount outlets in Germany two years ago partly because shoppers found the U.S. giant too expensive in comparison.
Now, the U.S. arm of Aldi is cranking up expansion in Wal-Mart's home turf and seizing on the economic downturn to lure consumers to its Spartan stores and cheap groceries. The discount chain will open at least 75 U.S. stores this year, well above its typical pace, including its first Aldi store in New York City.
The company is counting on the economic downturn to crash a traditional barrier to the U.S. grocery business: Americans tend to be loyal to big-name brands.
Store-brand goods generally make up 22% of U.S. food sales in terms of unit volume, according to research by Nielsen Co., while in some European markets, they account for about 30%. At Aldi, 95% of the goods are the retailer's own brands. . . . more
BATAVIA, Ill. — Aldi plans to open more than 75 stores in 2009, including the discounter’s first location in New York City, a spokeswoman told SN Tuesday.
Just past noon, Anna Chernova, a 68-year-old retiree, pushed her black metal shopping cart into an Aldi store here. After arriving from Russia 16 years ago, Chernova regularly shopped at conventional supermarkets like Dominick's and Jewel, but no more. "They're too expensive," Chernova says, clutching her shopping list with one hand. Now she visits Aldi once a week, drawn by the deep discounter's $2.69 one-gallon jugs of milk, and 33-cent boxes of salt. "I've got to save my pennies," she says, heading into the store. Chernova certainly isn't alone.
Spooked by the gravest economic crisis in decades, Americans are curtailing their spending. They're making fewer trips to supermarkets, and migrating from grocers like Albertson's and Whole Foods to deep discounters like Aldi and Save-a-Lot. And it's not just retirees like Chernova. These Spartan bastions of private-label goods are looking a lot better to a broader range of shoppers. "Prior to the economic slowdown, we were prospering. But now, we're seeing customers looking to save money, and our foot traffic has increased," says Jason Hart, president of Aldi US, based in Batavia, Ill. "There seems to be more demand for our stores, and people don't want to sacrifice quality." Aldi arrived in the U.S. in 1976, hoping to replicate a business model that proved successful in Europe. With U.S. food inflation then in the double digits, the company's timing couldn't have been better. Aldi was one of the first so-called "box" or "no-frills" stores, grocers that featured rock-bottom pricing by offering a limited inventory and squeezing out all unnecessary costs, from coupons to butcher shops to fancy displays.. . . more
Its stores are small and spartan, with minimal décor and a limited selection of products. They are often found in nondescript shopping strips and lack the flashy signs and window displays of some competitors. Grocery carts cost a quarter apiece, which is refundable after the cart is returned. But as the economy sputters and consumers look to save money, the privately held Aldi is suddenly emerging as a major force in the grocery business, one that some predict could one day rival Wal-Mart. What makes Aldi so special is that, quite simply, its prices are cheaper than just about anyone else’s, including Wal-Mart’s. Where else can you buy an 18-ounce box of raisin bran cereal for just $1.49? Or a frozen pizza for $3.99? Or how about a DVD/CD player for $24.99? . . . more
LIKE its reclusive German founders, the supermarket chain Aldi doesn’t do much to draw attention to itself.
