Aldi: Unraveling The Austrian Discount Supermarket Chain's Name

In Austria, Aldi is called Hofer. The first place Aldi expanded to outside of Germany was Austria in 1967, when Aldi Süd bought the Austrian grocery chain Hofer. The decision was made to keep the name Hofer due to the store's high brand recognition in Austria. Aldi operates stores under the Hofer brand in Austria and Slovenia.

Aldi is called Hofer in Austria

The Aldi supermarket chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, after they took over their mother's grocery store in Essen, Germany. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, which later became Aldi Nord (initially Northern West Germany) and Aldi Süd (initially Southern West Germany). The split was reportedly due to a dispute about whether cigarettes should be sold in their stores.

Aldi began its international expansion in 1967 when Aldi Süd acquired Hofer in Austria. Aldi Nord opened its first stores abroad in the Netherlands in 1973, and the company has since expanded to operate over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. Aldi Süd is now present in Australia, Austria, China, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Aldi Nord operates in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.

In addition to its grocery business, Aldi has expanded into other areas such as mobile network services and petrol retail. Aldi Talk is a mobile virtual network operator in Germany, and the company also operates similar networks in Australia and Switzerland. In Austria and Slovenia, Hofer stores serve as distributors for the brand HoT Hofer Telekom. Aldi has also established a joint venture with Austrian petrol retailer OMV Downstream GmbH to create no-frills petrol stations called Diskont, which provide self-service fuel by card-operated pumps.

Aldi was founded in Essen, Germany

In 1945, Karl and Theo, who had both served in World War II, took over their mother's business and soon opened another outlet nearby. By 1950, the brothers owned 13 stores in the Ruhr Valley. The brothers' business model was based on a simple principle: only sell what will sell. They kept prices low, sold only non-perishable items, and cut items that weren't selling from their inventory.

By 1960, the Albrecht brothers jointly owned 300 stores across Germany. However, they decided to split the business into two separate groups, which later became Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, over a dispute about whether to sell cigarettes. Karl believed that cigarettes would attract shoplifters, while Theo disagreed. Aldi Nord was headquartered in Essen, while Aldi Süd was headquartered in Mülheim.

Aldi was started by two brothers

The Albrecht brothers' business strategy was to subtract the legal maximum rebate of 3% before the sale. They also rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from their shelves, cutting costs by neither advertising nor selling fresh produce and keeping their stores small. By 1960, they owned 300 stores across Germany.

However, the brothers had different management styles and disagreed over selling cigarettes in their stores. Karl believed that selling cigarettes would attract shoplifters, while Theo did not. This disagreement led to the brothers splitting the company in 1960 or 1961 into two separate groups: Aldi Nord (initially Northern West Germany) and Aldi Süd (initially Southern West Germany). At the time of the split, they jointly owned 300 shops.

In 1962, the name Aldi, a syllabic abbreviation for "Albrecht Diskont" (Albrecht Discount in English), was introduced and became their formal corporate name in 1975. Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966.

Aldi started its international expansion in 1967 when Aldi Süd acquired the Austrian grocery chain Hofer. Aldi Nord opened its first stores abroad in the Netherlands in 1973, and Aldi Süd opened its first store in the US in 1976. Today, Aldi operates over 12,000 stores in 18 countries worldwide.

Aldi split into two companies

Aldi is the common brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains: Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd, which together operate in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, with Aldi Nord headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd in neighbouring Mülheim.

The Albrecht brothers were known for their efficient and complementary working styles, with Karl responsible for purchasing and Theo in charge of sales and store management. However, the brothers had a falling out in the early '60s, reportedly over a dispute about whether they should sell cigarettes, with Karl against the idea and Theo for it. This led to the pair splitting the company in two, with Theo running Aldi Nord and Karl running Aldi Süd.

The two companies expanded rapidly throughout the 1960s and 70s, although Aldi Süd grew much faster, which many put down to Karl's ability to quickly adapt to changing times and expectations. Within 20 years of the split, Aldi had collectively expanded into the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. As per their divided territory policy, Aldi Süd took the U.K., Aldi Nord took France, and the U.S. was divided between Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord's subsidiary Trader Joe's.

Today, the two Aldi chains are managed by respective private foundations that are under the ownership of the current members of the Albrecht family. The companies continue to maintain their unique separate-but-together model, with a singular website and some coordination during negotiations with suppliers.

Aldi has over 10,000 stores

Aldi, the German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chain, operates over 10,000 stores in 18 countries. The name Aldi is a syllabic abbreviation for "Albrecht Diskont", which translates to English as "Albrecht Discount". The company was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 when they took over their mother's store in Essen, Germany. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, which later became Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. Aldi Nord is headquartered in Essen and operates in Northern Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Aldi Süd is headquartered in Mülheim and operates in Southern Germany, Australia, China, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

Aldi's rapid expansion began in 1967 when Aldi Süd acquired the Austrian grocery chain Hofer. Aldi Nord opened its first stores abroad in the Netherlands in 1973, and Aldi Süd opened its first store in the United States in Iowa in 1976. Aldi continued to expand internationally, and by 1990 it had opened its first store in Great Britain. In 1999, Aldi entered the Irish market, and in 2001, it opened its first store in Australia. Aldi has continued to grow and expand its reach, with over 2,400 stores in the United States alone as of 2024.

In Austria, Aldi operates under the name Hofer, which was the original Austrian grocery chain acquired by Aldi Süd in 1967. The name Hofer was retained due to its high brand recognition in Austria. Aldi offers a wide range of products, including food, beverages, household items, and electronics, often at discounted prices. The company focuses on providing high-quality products at low prices and has a no-frills shopping experience with smaller store layouts for quick and easy shopping.

Aldi's expansion plans continue, with ambitions to open 800 new stores by the end of 2028, including locations in California, Arizona, and Nevada in the United States. Aldi's rapid growth has made it a prominent player in the grocery market, with a presence in multiple countries and a large number of stores worldwide.

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