Eckenbergstrasse 16
Essen, Germany
+49-201-8593-0
http://www.aldi.com
ALDI keeps it cheap so shoppers can, too. How has discount food retailer ALDI Group become one of the world's biggest grocery chains, running more than 9,800 stores worldwide? By offering deeply discounted prices on about 1,400 popular food items (a typical grocery store has 30,000). ALDI (short for "Albrecht Discounts") buys cheap land mostly on city outskirts, builds cheap warehouses, employs a tiny staff, and carries mostly (95%) private-label items, displaying them on pallets rather than shelves. ALDI has some 1,200 stores in 30-plus US states, but Germany (where ALDI has about 4,300 stores) accounts for about two-thirds of sales. ALDI was co-founded by brothers Karl and the late Theo Albrecht.