Aldi

Not to be confused with the automaker Audi.

Aldi
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded10 July 1946; 78 years ago (1946-07-10)
(split in two parts in 1960, renamed to Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd in 1962)[1]
FoundersKarl and Theo Albrecht
HeadquartersEssen, Germany (Aldi Nord)
Mülheim, Germany (Aldi Süd)
Number of locations
12,596 (2022)
Area served
United States
Australia
China
Europe
  • United Kingdom
    Ireland
    Poland
    Hungary
    France
    Spain
    Portugal
    Italy
    Germany
    Switzerland
    Austria
    Netherlands
    Belgium
    Luxembourg
    Slovenia
Products
RevenueAldi Nord: Increase €27 billion (2022)[2]
Aldi Süd: Increase€76 billion (2022)[3]
Number of employees
Aldi Nord: 72,811 (2022)[4]
Aldi Süd: 201,361 (2022)[5]
SubsidiariesTrader Joe's (Aldi Nord)
Hofer (Aldi Süd)
Winn-Dixie (Aldi Süd)
Harveys Supermarkets (Aldi Süd)
Websitealdi.com
aldi.us
aldi.de
aldi.com.au

Aldi (stylised as ALDI[6]) (German pronunciation: [ˈaldiː] ⓘ) 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 (initially Northern West Germany), headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd (initially Southern West Germany), headquartered in neighbouring Mülheim.[9][10]

In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont).[11] 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, Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain, while Aldi Süd operates in Australia, Austria, China, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the 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 owns the Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarket chains in the southern United States.[16]

Aldi is the chief competitor of the German discount chain Lidl in several markets.[17]

  1. ^ Thomas Rudolph (2011). Diversity in European Marketing: Text and Cases. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 141. ISBN 978-3834969767.
  2. ^ "Management". aldi-nord.de. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Company profile". aldisouthgroup.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Employees & Community". aldi-nord.de. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Company Profile". aldisouthgroup.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ Gutoskey, Ellen (5 March 2020). "What Does Aldi Stand For, Anyway?". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Aldi History, From Small Family Store to Leading Global Chain". businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  8. ^ Stefan Wagstyl (21 July 2014). "Karl Albrecht, Aldi co-founder, 1920-2014". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Impressum Archived 30 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine" Aldi Nord. Retrieved on 14 February 2011. "Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG Eckenbergstraße 16 45307 Essen."
  10. ^ "Impressum Archived 23 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Aldi Süd. Retrieved on 14 February 2011. "Burgstraße 37 45476 Mülheim an der Ruhr Amtsgericht Duisburg HRA 8577."
  11. ^ "Über uns". aldi-nord.de (in German). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  12. ^ "The Biggest Thing You Get Wrong About Trader Joe's and Aldi". Kitchn. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Aldi Business Model | How Does Aldi Make Money | Strategy and Insights – Vizologi | rethinking business model design". Vizologi | rethinking business model design. 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  14. ^ "The Connection Between Trader Joe's And Aldi". tastingtable.com. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  15. ^ Weymouth, Lauren. "Secrets of the German supermarkets conquering America (24 slides)". MSN: Money. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference aldistores was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "The Germans Are Escalating America's Grocery Price War". Bloomberg.com. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.