Aldi is a privately owned grocer that has built its reputation on low prices and, as well as food, is famous for ‘special buys’ – bargain products that arrive in stores every Thursday and Sunday.
The business was established in Germany in the 1940s by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht and in 1960 split in two to form Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. The UK and Ireland business is part of Aldi Sud, which also operates in countries including China, Australia and the USA.
In recent years Aldi, and value supermarket counterpart Lidl, have disrupted the established UK grocers and won market share.
Aldi has focused on selling through its stores and only offers a limited selection online, such as wines and a variety of general merchandise ranging from weekly special buys to toys and homewares. Aldi UK has a target of 1,200 stores by 2025.
Discounter Aldi has given shop workers a fresh pay rise, taking their base pay across the UK to £11.40 an hour.
Shoppers have had a tough time of late. Leaping from a global pandemic to an economic crisis has meant many have had to take a closer look at how much they spend and who they’re spending it with. For retailers, that means yet another obstacle course, forcing them to roll up their sleeves and navigate their customers through it.
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Imagine the howls of fury from all quarters if grocers raised food prices. Yet, perversely, in the aftermath of salad-gate, that is what many have asked them to do.
A quarter of UK customers are struggling with their food bills as grocery inflation soared to its highest level ever recorded.
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