Aldi , short for Albrecht Discount, is an international discount supermarket chain based in Germany.
History
In 1946, brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht took over a small store in a suburb of Essen, Germany, their mother had opened in 1913. Soon after they opened another retail outlet nearby and by 1950 owned 13 stores in the Ruhr Valley.
A priority for the Albrecht brothers was cost cutting: by the end of World War II, they had nearly perfected the philosophy of the “limited assortment” grocery store. The brothers did not advertise their business, did not sell fresh produce and kept their outlets small.
The brothers split the company in 1960s over a dispute about whether to sell cigarettes. By then, they had operated 300 shops and earned some DM 90 million per year. Two years after the split, which broke the chain into two legally and financially separate entities, they introduced the name Aldi. From then on, the Albrecht brothers’ business operated as Aldi Nord (Aldi North), which was known as Aldi Market, and Aldi Sud (Aldi South).
The companies continued to expand, Aldi Nord growing into 35 independent regional branches with about 2,500 stores, and Aldi Sud growing into 31 companies with 1,600 stores. In the 1970s and 80s, after the German reunification and the fall of Iron Curtain, Aldi expanded internationally, eventually operating some 8,210 individual stores worldwide. Both Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud operate markets mainly in Europe, but Aldi Sud also operates in the United States and Australia, among other locations.
In 1976, Aldi opened its first American store in Southeastern Iowa, continuing to use the Albrect philosophy: “When you buy a can of peas at Aldi, you’re paying almost entirely for the can of peas.” Aldi claims it saves customers money by leaving out the “army of stackers,” “piped-in music,” fancy display” and “gimmicks and games.”
In order to offer less expensive items, Aldi manufactures its products without the various factors — packaging, transportation, stocking, staff turnover and others — that tack pennies on to the final price consumers pay. To further reduce cost to the consumer, Aldi encourages customers to bring their own shopping bags, but also offers grocery bags for sale. To further reduce costs, Aldi’s shopping carts are available to rent for a quarter (deposit returned with the cart), thereby eliminating the need to pay an employee to recover carts. The store telephone numbers are unlisted to avoid needing an employee to answer the phone. Aldi’s labor costs are about 4 percent of store sales.
Aldi stores sell their own brand label foods, beverages and inexpensive household items, including electronics and appliances. It limits the number of outside brands it sells, usually to one or two per product, in order to increase sales and keep Aldi stores smaller than supermarkets that offer more diversity for a similar range of products. Aldi does not accept manufacturers’ coupons, although some stores in the U.S. experiment with a store coupon successfully.
Like some no frills, warehouse-style stores, Aldi does not decorate its aisles or fill all of its shelves. It offers pallets of its products, boxed in cardboard, which it places alongside aisles for customers to pick from.
The company maintained its policy of not advertising in Germany, with the exception of a weekly newsletter of special prices, because, it claims, the cost-saving measure can be passed down to consumers. In the U.S., Aldi advertises regularly through newspaper inserts and television commercials. Aldi is known to do its advertising in-house, so as not to spend money on an external advertising agency.
Although it had a reputation for being cheap and selling low-quality products, Aldi’s success hasn’t wavered. It continues to expand in Australia, England and the United States.
The global presence of ALDI is split between two separate corporate entities: ALDI Süd (South) and ALDI Nord (North).
While both companies cooperate on joint private-label branding, supply chain logistics, and marketing campaigns, they operate completely independent balance sheets and division-of-territory agreements
Global High-Level Comparison
| Metric | ALDI Süd (South Group) | ALDI Nord (North Group) |
| Store Count | ~7,600+ stores globally | ~5,500+ stores (plus ~570 Trader Joe’s stores) |
| Global Workforce | ~200,000+ employees | ~90,000+ employees (plus ~50,000 Trader Joe’s staff) |
| Est. Global Revenue | ~$75+ Billion USD | ~$35–40+ Billion USD (excl. Trader Joe’s) |
| Primary Footprint | US, UK, Australia, Southern Germany, China, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland | Northern Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Portugal |
| U.S. Flagship Brand | ALDI | Trader Joe’s |
1. ALDI Süd (ALDI South)
ALDI Süd is the larger and more aggressive of the two sisters in terms of international growth. It dominates major English-speaking markets and leads expansion in non-European markets.
- The United States: Operates as standard ALDI stores. It has grown into the third-largest grocer in the U.S. by store count (over 2,400+ stores) following its acquisition and conversion of Winn-Dixie and Harveys locations.
- The United Kingdom & Ireland: Features a massive footprint with over 1,000 locations in the UK, holding a top-5 market share position among British supermarkets.
- Australia: Operates nearly 600 stores, commanding roughly 10% of Australia’s entire grocery market share.
- China & Italy: Süd represents the expansion branch in mainland China (focused on tech-driven, smaller format stores in urban centers like Shanghai) and Italy.
2. ALDI Nord (ALDI North)
ALDI Nord maintains a dense retail footprint across Western and Central Europe, with its primary U.S. presence coming through a wholly owned subsidiary.
- European Core: Heavily concentrated in Western Europe—primarily France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Portugal.
- The United States: Does not operate under the ALDI name in the US. Instead, ALDI Nord acquired Trader Joe’s in 1979. Trader Joe’s operates completely autonomously with its own U.S.-based leadership, culture, and supply chains, contributing over 570 locations to Nord’s broader corporate portfolio.
Geographic Division Strategy
To avoid competing directly against one another, the two companies divided both Germany and the globe:
- In Germany: The “Aldi-Äquator” (Aldi Equator)—the Ruhr region boundary line—divides North (Essen) from South (Mülheim an der Ruhr).
- Globally: Outside Germany, the brothers agreed early on that neither would operate in a country where the other was already established.
- The U.S. “Exception”: The U.S. is the only country where both entities operate simultaneously. However, they strictly respect the spatial rule by using completely separate brand umbrellas: ALDI Süd operates ALDI, and ALDI Nord operates Trader Joe’s.
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