Aldi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Compagnie, oHG

Type	Privately held company
Industry	Retail
Founder	Karl Albrecht Theo Albrecht
Headquarters	Essen, Germany (Aldi Nord) Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany (Aldi Süd)
Number of locations	9,221
Area served	Global
Key people	Matthew Barnes (CEO, UK Operations)
Products	Discount store, Supermarket
Revenue	€53 billion (2009)

2015

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.

History

The company was started in 1913 as a family grocery business in Essen. In 1946, brothers Karl Albrecht (1920-2014) 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. The brothers became billionaires. In 2009 Karl's wealth was estimated to be €25 billion. Theo was kidnapped in 1971 and held prisoner for 17 days until a seven million mark ransom was paid. The family have avoided publicity and there are few known photographs of them.

Geographic distribution

Country	Name	Aldi group	Since	Outlets
Germany	Aldi	Nord	1946	2,400
	Aldi	Süd	1946	1,790
Australia	Aldi	Süd	2001	311
Austria	Hofer	Süd	1968	430
Belgium	Aldi	Nord	1976	380
Denmark	Aldi	Nord	1977	244
France	Aldi	Nord	1988	680
Hungary	Aldi	Süd	2008	75
Ireland	Aldi	Süd	1998	105
Luxembourg	Aldi	Nord	1990	12
Netherlands	Aldi	Nord	1973	406
Poland	Aldi	Nord	2008	100
Portugal	Aldi	Nord	2006	36
Slovenia	Hofer	Süd	2005	71
Spain	Aldi	Nord	2002	250
Switzerland	Aldi Suisse	Süd	2005	130
United Kingdom	Aldi	Süd	1990	550
United States	Aldi	Süd	1976	1,200
	Trader Joe's	Nord	1979	399
total number of Aldi Nord stores				4,805
total number of Aldi Süd stores				4,430
combined total of Aldi stores				9,235

Australia

Aldi started in Australia in 2001. 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. In 2009 the Australian stores made a profit of AU$91.94 million, up 27% on 2008.

Images for kids

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  Albrecht grocery store in Essen-Schonnebeck (1958)

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  Aldi's original store in Essen

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  Aldi stores worldwide: Aldi Nord in blue, Aldi Süd in orange. Note that in the United States, both Nord and Süd operate, although the "Trader Joe's" name is used for Nord stores there.

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  Aldi Süd in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England

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  ALDI Süd store in Macclesfield, UK

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  New style of Aldi Süd in Simi Valley, CA, US

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  Old style of Aldi Süd in Bethlehem, PA, US

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  Aldi Nord in Ruda Śląska, southern Poland

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  Aldi in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, central Poland

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  Aldi store in Amadora, Portugal

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  Aldi store in Orange, New South Wales, Australia

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  An ALDI Süd store in Conder, Australia

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  Aldi Nord interior

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  The inside of an Aldi Süd store in Hungary

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  The outside of an Aldi Local, in Balham, London