
Where Wal-Mart Failed, Aldi Succeeds (2011) - Tomte
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/business/30aldi.html?pagewanted=all
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MrFoof
Something I've been working on in my spare time is a database of grocery
staples (about 200 items, plus 80 common cleaning/toiletry items), their costs
(per item, unit price, per package), and where you can get them for that
price. Regular everyday price, not sale prices.

Aldi not only outcompetes most supermarkets -- including ones that are
traditionally considered inexpensive like Market Basket -- but can go toe-to-
toe with warehouse clubs and bulk services like Amazon Subscribe & Save.
Having spent far more time in supermarkets than I'd care to admit, it's pretty
obvious as to why:

* The stores are smaller. They pay less in rent.

* They have a limited selection of inventory. Don't expect lots of pre-prepared food, and fancy pre-made items. In fact, expect very little. It's mostly staples with some extremely common packaged convenience foods.

* As a result of the first two items, they don't need much in the way of staff to cover the store. They're spending their time restocking the store as stuff runs out, so things _don 't_ run out. However if you want some items, your best bet is to go at open.

* Which is 9AM. They also close at 9AM. Not running 24 hours means lower costs.

* They have few registers. My local store has four. However they don't bag your groceries. Your groceries get dumped into another cart at the end of the register, and you go pack it yourself. The speed in which a person can be checked out is VERY quick as a result.

* You pay $0.25 for a cart, and get it back when you return it. The upside is no one is outside rounding up carts.

* They provide no bags. At all. Though they'll happily let you take the empty boxes items came in.

Compared to the local BigCo supermarket chain, they come in at about 40%
cheaper, even if you're buying store brand from the BigCo chain. On many
items, they undercut both the local BJs and Costco, despite not selling that
kind of quantity. They do it by providing exactly what you need at a grocery
store, and nothing you don't.

Even compared to Market Basket -- which I do love and still go to for some
things -- they still easily come in 15% cheaper. There are some things I can't
get at Aldi (so I'll go to Market Basket, as I'll go to Trader Joe's to get
high quality produce easier), but damned if they aren't a super efficient
setup.

~~~
Severian
> Don't expect lots of pre-prepared food, and fancy pre-made items. In fact,
> expect very little. It's mostly staples with some extremely common packaged
> convenience foods.

In my experience, I would have to disagree. For what I have seen at the two
nearest stores to me, 50% of the store's inventory is boxed, canned, and
frozen foods. True, they do have your staples (your meats, veg, and dairy),
but to say they have "very little", at least in my experience, is simply not
true. In fact, the wife and I get most of our boxed and canned goods at Aldi.

> However if you want some items, your best bet is to go at open.

I've been at our stores pretty much at random hours and have never been
disappointed in the quantity of inventory. It sounds like you might be
visiting a mismanaged store.

> They provide no bags. At all. Though they'll happily let you take the empty
> boxes items came in.

Not true. Again, at least where I am at. They offer paper bags for $0.10 and
heavier reusable plastic for $0.30 (to the best of my recollection). They also
offer the washable heavy-duty fabric variety as well.

~~~
MrFoof
> _Don 't expect lots of pre-prepared food, and fancy pre-made items. In fact,
> expect very little. It's mostly staples with some extremely common packaged
> convenience foods. In my experience, I would have to disagree. For what I
> have seen at the two nearest stores to me, 50% of the store's inventory is
> boxed, canned, and frozen foods._

I should've clarified more on the "fancy pre-made items". Most of the larger
national chain supermarkets have grown more and more into this. In particular,
one location in my area (in an affluent neighborhood) has dedicated over 1/3rd
of its floor space to "hot and ready to eat" take-out style food, prepared on-
site, and priced at $10/pound (excluding things like sushi). It's a common
sight to see a cart filled with nothing but basically take-out boxes, bakery
items, bottled water, and alcohol.

That particular store in that particular location, if I included frozen meals,
and boxed/canned meals, it's literally 3 out of every 4 square feet.

> _However if you want some items, your best bet is to go at open. I 've been
> at our stores pretty much at random hours and have never been disappointed
> in the quantity of inventory. It sounds like you might be visiting a
> mismanaged store._

No, this is more of living in a major city, and the location's relatively
small size (the adjacent CVS is about 50% larger). I would compare the size of
its produce area to 16-20% of that of a typical chain supermarket. As it
result, it depletes _very_ quickly. This means that the highest quality stuff
is gone within 10-15 minutes of open.

I wouldn't say that's unique to Aldi either. If you don't go to Market Basket
close to open, don't expect high-quality produce to be there when you show up,
and some items may be gone entirely. The reason being is the area MBs are
always packed except right at open.

~~~
Severian
Thanks for the clarification, I understand where you are coming from now.

For pre-made, as you describe, yes, Aldi has nothing like that beyond maybe
some sort of yogurt parfait. Stores like Kroger, Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, and
the other major supermarkets reflect what you describe. It seems that my wife
and I encompass a shrinking minority or people who eat home-cooked meals more
often than not.

As for inventory availability, I guess it does depend on the store, as ours
have been fairly good with keeping stock available. This is in a city
(Columbus, Ohio) of 800,000+ with the 'burbs encompassing another million or
so. We are becoming quite a foodie town, and I think that reflects a lot on
the availability of fresh produce. We have many ethnic supermarkets as well,
much larger than Aldi, that have a VERY wide assortment of foreign fruits and
vegetables. I would have to say we probably have a lot of brokers here.

------
wolfgke
It is well-known that Aldi pays its emloyees pretty well (at least in the
usual European countries). But they have few employees per shop. These are
expected to work really hard and long hours and are expected to do everything
necessary to keep the shop running (complaining that something is not part of
what you were hired for is not allowed). In German TV there have been
complaints about the hard work and long working hours, but none about the pay.

The pay is even so good that when Aldi expanded to Switzerland, there were
lots of people who feared or complained preliminarily that Aldi would reduce
the average wage level of the region. The opposite happened: After Aldi opened
some shops in Switzerland there were people who complained that Aldi pays more
for shelf stockers than lots of other professions after four years of hard
apprenticeship:

> [http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/AldiLoehne-
> provoziere...](http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/AldiLoehne-
> provozieren-Lehrlinge/story/30678140)

~~~
Broken_Hippo
I tried to work at an Aldi once, back in the late 90's. Their pay was nearly
what the local factories made (Chrysler, Delco [electronics for GM], and
Subaru a bit further away). They rarely hired folks at full time, however:
Most worked 25 hours a week, but I think still had some insurance & vacation.

The most telling sign of the work environment: They had low turnover. Most
retail seems to be the opposite.

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joezydeco
Things have changed a bit for ALDI since 2011.

They're sinking $1.6 billion into store expansion and renovation. I live near
one of the prototype remodel stores and it's really nice.

[https://www.ft.com/content/41644020-ee28-11e6-930f-061b01e23...](https://www.ft.com/content/41644020-ee28-11e6-930f-061b01e23655)

They also take credit cards now.

~~~
MrFoof
They are also rolling out contactless payments as well.

My guess is they initially avoided it due to costs (swipe/interchange fees),
but looked at the improvement to checkout speeds and figured likely consider
it a wash now.

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ce4
LIDL, Aldi's german competitor is also coming to the US.

[https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpearson/2016/10/03/lidl-
is...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpearson/2016/10/03/lidl-is-
coming-12-reasons-u-s-retailers-should-care/)

------
Spooky23
Unless you completely refuse or are unable to comparison shop, I don't get the
Aldi thing.

Aldi is a cool store, but the stock is really haphazard, especially produce,
and the meat sucks.

If you're really saving a lot of money, you're eating a lot of processed crap.

~~~
StringEpsilon
In germany, the meat selection in ALDI is very small. You go to ALDI for the
off-brand sweets, the basic cooking ingredients (fruits, veggies, canned
goods, etc.), drinks (water, beer, off-brand softdrinks) and some misc.
household items.

I think the aldi nearest to my home does not even sell pre-processed meals
outside of frozen stuff (like Pizza) and canned soups.

In germany, they also have a rotating selection of cheap random stuff, ranging
from laptops over garden chairs and tools to rugs and sheets. It's usually a
very limited supply and most of the time not that bad for the pricetag (even
the laptops).

That said, I prefer the competitor "Penny", because I know the layout better
and they are a bit nicer, at least in my town.

~~~
Spooky23
Sounds like they are the same as in the states.

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mehaveaccount
Walmart is for Ruralites and Aldi is for Urbanites, I think this sums up why
NYT would praise Aldi over Walmart.

~~~
ryanx435
In my city, they are currently building an Aldi across the street from the
existing Walmart. They are in a relatively rich first ring suburb.

~~~
mehaveaccount
Makes a lot of sense, suburbs are both literally and culturally the border
between rural and urban

