Aldi
Aldi is a supermarket in Germany and in most parts of the European Union. Aldi shops are also in Australia and the United States. Most German towns and villages have at least one Aldi shop. There are about 4,100 stores in Germany, and 7,600 worldwide. The name of the shop stands for ALbrecht-DIscount.
The company is a food retailer, but it also sells non-food at times. In the 1990s, Aldi often sold computers that were sought after. Aldi has a reputation for being cheap. It forces its suppliers to sell to them at low prices.
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History [change]
The company was started in 1913 as a family grocery business in Essen.[1] In 1946, brothers Karl Albrecht (born 1920) and Theo Albrecht (1922-2010) took over the business from their mother. Theo had been held by the US in a prisoner of war camp. They started the idea of discount shops in Germany. They decided to have a limited range of goods and sell them at a discount price. In 1960, the company was split into Aldi Nord (Aldi North) under the control of Theo, and Aldi Süd (Aldi South) under the control of Karl.[1] The brothers became very rich. In 2009 Karl's wealth was estimated to be €25 billion.[1] Theo was kidnapped in 1971 and held prisoner for 17 days until a seven million mark ransom was paid[1]. The family have avoided publicity and there are few known photographs of them.[1]
Geographic distribution [change]
| Country | Name | Aldi group | Since | Number of stores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Aldi | Nord | 1946 | 2,400 |
| Aldi Süd | Süd | 1946 | 1,610 | |
| Australia | Aldi | Süd | 2001 | 140 |
| Austria | Hofer | Süd | 1968 | 369[2] |
| Belgium | Aldi | Nord | around 1973 | 380 |
| Denmark | Aldi | Nord | 1977 | 230 |
| France | Aldi | Nord | 1988 | 680 |
| Hungary | Aldi | Süd | 2008 | 78 |
| Ireland | Aldi | Süd | 1998 | 34 |
| Luxembourg | Aldi | Nord | around 1990 | 12 |
| Netherlands | Aldi | Nord | around 1975 | 405 |
| Portugal | Aldi | Nord | June 2006 | 5 |
| Slovenia | Hofer | Süd | December 2005 | 29 |
| Spain | Aldi | Nord | 2002 | 130 |
| Switzerland | Aldi Suisse | Süd | 2005 | 31 |
| United Kingdom | Aldi | Süd | 1989 | 310 |
| USA | Aldi | Süd | 1976 | 818 |
| total number of Aldi Nord stores | 4,242 | |||
| total number of Aldi Süd stores | 3,419 | |||
Australia [change]
Aldi started in Australia in 2001.[3] At the end of 2010 there were 210 Aldi stores in eastern Australia and the company were planning to open 20-30 stores each year.[3] In 2009 the Australian stores made a profit of AU$91.94 million, up 27% on 2008.[3]
References [change]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Aldi's reclusive founder dies, age 88 - Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph (London: TMG). 28 July 2010. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7915877/Aldis-reclusive-founder-dies-age-88.html. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ↑ AC Nielsen (2007-03-05). "Lebensmittel-Riesen in Österreich". Der Standard. pp. 9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Greenblat, Eli (3 October 2011). "Booming Aldi steps up store wars". theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/business/booming-aldi-steps-up-store-wars-20111002-1l3sz.html. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
Other websites [change]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aldi |
- Aldi International (with links to all of Aldi's international websites)
