Aldi facts for kids
 
Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord logos
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Aldi Süd in Sparta, Wisconsin, United States
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 10 July 1946 (split in two parts in 1960, renamed to Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd in 1962) |
| Founders | Karl and Theo Albrecht |
| Headquarters | Essen, Germany (Aldi Nord) Mülheim, Germany (Aldi Süd) |
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Number of locations
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13,243 (2025) |
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Area served
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Europe
Germany
United Kingdom Ireland Poland Hungary France Spain Portugal Italy Switzerland Austria Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Slovenia United States Australia China |
| Products | |
| Revenue | Aldi Nord: 28,6 billion € (2023)Aldi Süd: 89 billion € (2024) |
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Number of employees
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Aldi Nord: 87,892 (2023) Aldi Süd: 203,146 (2024) |
Aldi is a well-known German company that owns two large chains of discount supermarkets. It's a family-owned business with over 12,000 stores in 18 countries around the world. The company was started by two brothers, Karl and Theo Albrecht, in 1946. They took over their mother's small grocery store in Essen, Germany.
In 1960, the business split into two separate groups: Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. These two parts became officially known as Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd in 1962. Even though they are separate companies, they sometimes work together, especially when dealing with suppliers. Aldi is a major competitor to another German discount store, Lidl.
Contents
Who Owns Aldi?
Aldi is owned by special family foundations. These foundations make sure the company stays in the family and continues to operate its stores.
Aldi Nord's Owners
Aldi Nord is fully owned by three foundations: the Markus-Stiftung, the Jacobus-Stiftung, and the Lukas-Stiftung. These foundations are based in Nortorf, Germany. They own all of Aldi Nord's business in Germany, which includes 23 regional companies. They also own 7 companies in other countries like Belgium, France, and Poland. Aldi Nord also owns the popular Trader Joe's stores in the United States.
Aldi Süd's Owners
Aldi Süd is mostly owned by the Siepmann-Stiftung (75%), along with the Oertl-Stiftung and the Elisen-Stiftung (25% together). These foundations are located in Eichenau, Germany. They own Aldi Süd's business in Germany, which has 24 regional companies. They also own 10 companies in other countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Aldi's History
The story of Aldi began in 1913 when the mother of Karl and Theo Albrecht opened a small store in Essen, Germany. The brothers were born in the early 1920s. Theo learned about the grocery business from his mother, and Karl worked in a delicatessen.
After World War II, in 1945, the brothers took over their mother's store. They quickly opened another store nearby. By 1950, the Albrecht brothers owned 13 stores in the Ruhr Valley region of Germany.
The brothers had a simple idea: they wanted to offer the lowest prices possible. They did this by removing items that didn't sell well, not spending money on advertising, and keeping their stores small. By 1960, they had grown to 300 stores across Germany.
The Company Splits
In 1960, the Albrecht brothers decided to split their company into two separate businesses. One reason for the split was a disagreement about whether to sell cigarettes. Karl thought selling cigarettes would attract shoplifters, but Theo disagreed. This led to Theo running Aldi Nord and Karl running Aldi Süd. At the time, they had 300 stores together.
In 1962, they officially named their stores Aldi, which is short for "Albrecht Discount." Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate companies since 1966.
Growing Around the World
Aldi began to expand internationally in 1967. Aldi Süd bought a grocery chain called Hofer in Austria. Aldi Nord opened its first stores outside Germany in the Netherlands in 1973.
In 1976, Aldi Süd opened its first store in the United States in Iowa. A few years later, in 1979, Aldi Nord bought Trader Joe's, another popular grocery chain in the US.
After the German reunification in 1990, Aldi grew very quickly. The Albrecht brothers retired from leading the companies in 1993. Control of Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd was then given to the family foundations.
In August 2023, Aldi Süd bought Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket in the US. This added about 400 stores across several states. By March 2024, this deal was complete. Aldi plans to change many of these stores into Aldi stores by 2027.
How Aldi is Organized
Aldi in Germany
In Germany, Aldi Nord has 35 independent regional branches with about 2,500 stores. Aldi Süd has 24 companies with 2,000 stores. There's a famous imaginary line called the "Aldi equator" that divides their territories in Germany. This line runs across the country, from the Rhine river eastward.
Most of eastern Germany is served by Aldi Nord. Each regional branch has a manager who reports directly to the main office in Essen (for Aldi Nord) or Mülheim (for Aldi Süd).
Aldi Around the World
The Aldi group has over 12,000 stores worldwide. Aldi Nord manages stores in northern Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Aldi Nord also owns Trader Joe's in the United States, which operates as a separate company.
Aldi Süd is in charge of stores in southern Germany, Australia, China, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Through its Austrian company, Hofer AG, Aldi Süd also operates in Austria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
In Austria and Slovenia, Aldi Süd stores are called "Hofer." Aldi Süd opened its first store in Switzerland in 2005 and in Hungary in 2007.
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Aldi started in Great Britain on April 5, 1990, with its first store in Stechford, Birmingham. By 2017, Aldi had over 600 stores there and was opening new ones very quickly. In September 2022, Aldi became Britain's 4th largest supermarket. By September 2023, Aldi had opened its 1,000th store in the UK and plans to open 500 more.
Aldi entered the Irish market in 1999. By November 2024, its 163rd store in Ireland had opened in Tullamore.
Aldi opened its first Australian store in Sydney in 2001. It has grown quickly and had about 540 stores in Australia by August 2019.
Aldi Süd has expanded across the Eastern and Midwestern US. In 2015, Aldi Süd started expanding into Southern California. By August 2019, the company was investing billions to grow to 2,500 stores in the US by the end of 2022. It also spent money to update many of its existing US stores.
By October 2024, there were 2,428 Aldi Süd stores in 39 US states. You can even get groceries delivered from 95% of these stores through Instacart. In March 2024, Aldi announced plans to invest over $9 billion and open 800 new stores in the United States by the end of 2028.
Aldi Süd opened its first stores in Italy in March 2018. By October 2019, there were 66 stores in northern Italy, with plans for more.
In mid-2019, Aldi Süd opened two smaller, more upscale stores in Shanghai, China. This was the start of a plan to open 100 such stores in the city.
In December 2020, Aldi bought 545 supermarkets in France from Casino Group. This was part of Aldi's plan to catch up with Lidl in France.
In December 2022, Aldi Nord announced it was leaving Denmark after 45 years. Many of its stores there were taken over by a Norwegian competitor called Rema 1000.
Where Aldi Stores Are Located
| Country | Name & (group) |
Since | Outlets | Ref. |
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 Germany |
Aldi (Nord) | 1961 | 2,236 | |
| Aldi (Süd) | 1961 | 2,034 | ||
 Australia |
Aldi (Süd) | 2001 | 599 | |
 Austria |
Hofer (Süd) | 1968 | 541 | |
 Belgium |
Aldi (Nord) | 1973 | 450 | |
 China |
Aldi 奥乐齐 (Süd) | 2019 | 65 | |
 France |
Aldi (Nord) | 1988 | 1,335 | |
 Hungary |
Aldi (Süd) | 2008 | 184 | |
 Ireland |
Aldi (Süd) | 1999 | 163 | |
 Italy |
Aldi (Süd) | 2018 | 197 | |
 Luxembourg |
Aldi (Nord) | 1990 | 18 | |
 Netherlands |
Aldi (Nord) | 1975 | 492 | |
 Poland |
Aldi (Nord) | 2008 | 362 | |
 Portugal |
Aldi (Nord) | 2006 | 156 | |
 Slovenia |
Hofer (Süd) | 2005 | 93 | |
 Spain |
Aldi (Nord) | 2002 | 478 | |
 Switzerland |
Aldi Suisse (Süd) | 2005 | 250 | |
 United Kingdom |
Aldi (Süd) | 1990 | 1,056 | |
 United States |
Aldi (Süd) | 1976 | 2,388 | |
| Winn Dixie + Harveys (to reflag until 2027) |
194 | |||
| Trader Joe's (Nord) | 1979 | 608 | ||
| Total number of Aldi Nord stores | 5,723 | |||
| Total number of Aldi Süd stores | 7,580 | |||
| Combined total of Aldi stores | 13,303 | |||
| Combined total of Aldi + Trader Joe's stores | 13,911 | |||
| Combined total of Aldi + Trader Joe´s + Winn-Dixie + Harveys stores |
14,105 | |||
How Aldi Does Business
Inside an Aldi Store
Aldi stores are known for being "no-frills" or simple. They offer many items at low prices, focusing on everyday things like food, drinks, and household goods. Most of the products you find at Aldi are their own special brands, like Grandessa or Happy Farms. They usually don't sell many well-known brand-name products.
Aldi also has special offers each week on different items, which can include electronics, tools, or toys. These special items are only available for a limited time and in limited quantities.
In many US stores, Aldi has a special "Aldi Finds" aisle. This aisle has unique items at discounted prices, and it's sometimes playfully called the "aisle of shame" because people love finding unexpected deals there.
Aldi is the biggest seller of wine in Germany. Many stores in Australia and some in the US also sell alcoholic drinks like beer and wine, where it's allowed by law.
In March 2019, Aldi Süd launched smaller stores in the UK called Aldi Local. These stores have fewer products, focus more on fresh items, and don't have the famous "middle aisle" of weekly offers. In 2021, Aldi UK opened its first store where you don't need a cashier to check out.
Advertising and Marketing
In the United States, Aldi advertises in newspapers, on television, and online. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, they started advertising on TV and in print in 2005. Since 2016, Aldi UK has created popular Christmas ads featuring a character named Kevin the Carrot.
In Australia, Aldi often advertises on television. In Belgium, they started advertising in late 2017, showing how their own products tasted just as good as popular brand names.
Aldi Logos and Brands
Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have different logos. Aldi Nord's logo shows the whole letter 'A' for Aldi. Aldi Süd's logo, updated in 2017, shows half of an 'A' with a more rounded, 3D look and a new font for the word ALDI. This makes it look different from the Aldi Nord logo.
Being Sustainable
Between 2012 and 2019, Aldi's UK stores became "carbon neutral". This means they balanced out their carbon emissions by investing in solar power, green energy, and making their stores more energy efficient. In March 2020, Aldi announced that all its suppliers would also become carbon neutral.
In January 2024, the company shared plans to stop using plastic bags in its 2,300 US stores. They will still offer cloth bags. Aldi also aims to use natural refrigerants in its US stores by the end of 2035.
In 2016, Aldi promised to only use eggs from cage-free chickens by 2025. By 2024, Aldi had completed this change for its stores in the United Kingdom.
Aldi's Reputation
In the United Kingdom, Aldi has won "Supermarket of the Year" awards multiple times. In April 2015, Aldi became the UK's sixth-largest supermarket chain. By February 2017, it was the fifth-largest. Research from 2019 showed that almost two-thirds of households in the UK visit an Aldi or Lidl store at least once every 12 weeks.
In the United States, Aldi is known for paying its employees much higher than the minimum wage. This is unusual for supermarket chains in America.
In 2018, Supermarket News magazine named Aldi "Retailer of the Year."
Other Aldi Businesses
Aldi also has other businesses, like a mobile phone network called Aldi Talk and a petrol station chain called Diskont. They also sell home appliances and electronics under different brand names, often made by a company called Medion.
Aldi Talk
Aldi has its own mobile phone network called Aldi Talk in Germany. It's also known as MEDIONmobile. Aldi operates a similar network in Australia called "ALDImobile" and in Switzerland. In Austria and Slovenia, Hofer stores help distribute the "HoT Hofer Telekom" brand.
Aldi Alcohol
Aldi sells low-cost alcohol from its alcohol stores. In November 2019, Aldi announced that it would offer same-day beer and wine delivery in the US through a partnership with Instacart.
Diskont Petrol Stations
In Austria, Aldi, through its Hofer stores, has partnered with a petrol company called OMV. They created simple, self-serve petrol stations called Diskont. These 85 stations are usually located near Aldi stores and offer unleaded petrol or diesel fuel.
Aldi Insurance
Aldi launched Aldi Insurance in Australia in June 2024. They offer different types of insurance, like home and contents insurance, car insurance, and landlord's insurance.
Images for kids
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Albrecht grocery store in Essen-Schonnebeck, 1958
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Aldi grocery store in Memmingen, circa 1968
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Aldi's original store at Huestraße 89 in Essen, pictured in September 2006. This location closed in 2020.
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New style of Aldi Süd in Simi Valley, California, US
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Old style of Aldi Süd in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, US
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An Aldi Nord in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, central Poland
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Aldi Nord store in Amadora, Portugal
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An ALDI Süd store in Conder, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
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An ALDI Süd store (奥乐齐超市) in Changning, Shanghai, China
See also
In Spanish: Aldi para niños
