Aldi is a worldwide brand with over 2,000 stores in the United States. Known for offering its customers great deals and low prices within its stores, Aldi sells a variety of products including groceries, personal care, pet supplies, and more.
If you haven’t heard of Aldi before, you may be curious to learn more about the brand, including what it’s known for, how it’s different from other retailers, and what products the company sells. If you’d like to find out, keep reading!
What is Aldi In 2024?
Aldi is a discount grocery chain with over 2,000 stores currently in operation across the United States, as of 2024. Known for its low prices and simplistic store design, Aldi is popular with customers due to the smaller sizes of its stores and selective products. Aldi sells items such as fresh produce, meats and alcohol.
For more information about Aldi, including when Aldi was founded, who owns Aldi, what type of products Aldi sells, if Aldi is cheaper than Walmart, and how Aldi is connected to Trader Joe’s, then keep reading!
What is Aldi Known For?
Aldi is often known for its simple store design, which allows customers to have an efficient and faster shopping experience, also due to the smaller selection of products offered.
Aldi is also known for its low prices, which are made possible through the private-label products offered in their stores, such as Barissimo, Benton’s, Bon Italia, Clancy’s, Kirkwood, PurAqua, Simms, Simply Nature, and Village Bakery.
How is Aldi Different?
The retailer Aldi can be considered different from their competitors due to the operational tactics of its store.
Aldi deliberately offers a smaller selection of products, which means it can operate using smaller stores.
Additionally, because the majority of Aldi products are private-label, the company requires fewer warehouses and displays within its stores.
The smaller Aldi stores offer customers a unique experience, which can be quicker than larger competitors, indicating Aldi as a convenient retailer.
It also helps Aldi to keep its rental prices down, which can maximize profits.
What Type of Store is Aldi?
Aldi is known as a discount grocery chain, and while the company is currently concentrated within the Eastern half of the United states, it has plans to expand.
The discounted prices at Aldi are often achievable due to their stocking of private-label brands, which help to keep the costs low.
What Does Aldi Sell?
Aldi sells a variety of products, including grocery and homeware products. Currently, products can be purchased from Aldi stores as well as online at the Aldi website.
Food products available at Aldi include dairy and eggs, fresh produce, fresh meat and seafood, deli, frozen foods, bakery and bread, snacks, breakfast and cereals, pantry essentials, beverages, and alcohol.
Other products available from Aldi include pet supplies, baby items, household essentials, personal care, seasonal products, and holiday products.
Aldi also offers weekly specials, which are unique products introduced for a limited time that are often branded and available at a significant discount to the company’s regular retail cost.
What Does the Name Aldi Mean?
The name Aldi comes from the words ‘Albrecht Discount,’ taking the first two letters of each word to form the name Aldi.
Albrecht is the name of the owners of Aldi, and discount refers to the nature of Aldi stores as discount retailers.
When was Aldi Founded?
The first Aldi store was opened in Iowa in 1976. The headquarters of Aldi are now located in Batavia, Illinois, and the company employs over 25,000 people.
Aldi was originally founded by Anna Albrecht, before being inherited by her sons Theo and Karl Albrecht.
Who Owns Aldi?
Aldi is currently owned by the Albrecht family, who also own the similar retailer Trader Joe’s. The current CEO of Aldi is Jason Hart, who was appointed to the role in 2015.
Are Trader Joe’s and Aldi the Same?
Trader Joe’s and Aldi are not the same company, and neither company owns the other. Trader Joe’s is owned and operated by Aldi Nord, whereas Aldi is operated by Aldi Sud.
Aldi was divided into Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud in the 1960s during a dispute over whether the company should sell cigarettes. Aldi Nord is currently operated by Theo Albrecht, whereas Karl Albrecht owns Aldi Sud.
Aldi Sud opened their US stores in 1976, and in 1979 Aldi Nord had acquired Trader Joe’s as part of the business, operating as a subsidiary.
However, Aldi and Trader Joe’s are owned by the same parent company, Albrecht Discounts, and operate using the same business strategy.
Aldi and Trader Joe’s do sell similar products, including wine, cheese, bread, butter, and other standard products.
Where is Aldi in the US?
Aldi is currently concentrated within the Midwest of the United States, such as the Mid-Atlantic, Florida, and California, with a focus to continue to expand in this area.
Currently, Aldi is aiming to become the third-largest supermarket chain following Walmart and Kroger, aiming to operate 2500 stores by 2022.
Is Aldi Food Good Quality?
Aldi food has been considered good quality, as the company is able to offer a range of fruits, vegetables and other healthy products for a lower price than retailers such as Whole Foods.
Research into Aldi found that it offers lower prices on meat such as beef, as well as on essentials such as milk, grains, and coffee.
While the selection of products at Aldi is more limited than other retailers, this allows for a faster shopping experience and cheaper prices.
Is Aldi Successful in the USA?
Aldi is competing with other retailers such as Walmart by offering lower prices on many items, while still providing high-quality items for customers.
The unique layout of Aldi stores is also appealing to customers, including the draw of special buy products which change weekly.
How Many Aldi Stores are There?
According to ScrapeHero, there are currently 2142 Aldi locations in the United States, located within 38 states and territories, and 1359 cities.
Aldi is concentrated within the Midwest, which explains why the state with the most Aldi stores is Illinois, which has 210 Aldi stores, comprising 9% of all the locations within the US.
There are currently 18 US States and territories that don’t contain any Aldi stores, which include Alaska, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, American Samoa, Washington, Oregon, Maine and the Northern Mariana Islands, and Utah.
To know more about Aldi, you can also see our posts on Aldi statistics, the biggest Aldi competitors, and Aldi’s competitive advantages.
Conclusion
Aldi is a discount retailer that sells a range of products including groceries like fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, as well as homeware products such as pet supplies, cleaning supplies and hygiene essentials.
There are currently over 2,000 Aldi stores within the United States, which are known for offering low prices on everyday items, which allows a unique shopping experience for customers.
