The History of Aldi, Lidl, and Trader Joe’s

Recently I spent a lot of time shopping for Instacart. I found a few new products at Aldi that were healthy and ready to eat. It made me think about a store I miss, Trader Joe’s.

If you’ve been to these three stores, you’ve felt the similar vibe. How are they related? How are they different?

History of Aldi

It’s a surprisingly dramatic retail tale involving a family feud, Cold War politics, and global expansion. Who would have guessed?

Aldi gives you a variety of store-brand and name-brand food and beverages, with fresh, frozen, and canned/shelf-stable foods. The products typically stay boxed and this saves time and money displaying the items.

Back before World War 1, half a century before Walmart in America, there was Aldi’s.

1913 – Anna Albrecht opens a small grocery store in Essen, Germany.
1946 – Her sons Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht take over after WWII, renaming it Albrecht KG.
Postwar Germany was economically devastated, so they focused on selling only essential, low-cost products.

Birth of the Aldi Concept

The brothers introduced "no-frills" retailing. What did this entail at the time?

• Limited selection