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Aldi, whose owners, Theo and Karl Albrech, also own the Trader Joe's supermarket chain, plans to open its first New York City store at the Rego Park II shopping center on Junction Blvd. in Queens.
This should be a good move for the chain and the community. We could use a really good mega-supermarket and it'll provide another source of employment.
Aldi, whose owners, Theo and Karl Albrech, also own the Trader Joe's supermarket chain, plans to open its first New York City store at the Rego Park II shopping center on Junction Blvd. in Queens.
This should be a good move for the chain and the community. We could use a really good mega-supermarket and it'll provide another source of employment.
Are they averse to using the Trader Joe's name/signage?
Are they averse to using the Trader Joe's name/signage?
This is always confusing to a lot of people, and often represented in a misleading way by the media. They are NOT owned by the same entity.
Just like Adidas (which split into Adidas and Puma), ALDI was originally owned by two German brothers who ended up in a disagreement that led to the company’s division, respectively.
In the case of ALDI, the two brothers were Karl and Theo Albrecht, the latter of whom died last year (they were the two richest Germans at that point and have interesting pasts in other ways, too, including kidnapping and total seclusiveness [no photos of them since the 80s]).
Anyway, when the two split up ALDI after disagreeing on whether or not to sell tobacco, KARL formed Aldi Süd (South) and THEO formed Aldi Nord (North). They also divided the countries that each Aldi could access for international expansion.
Aldi North America is owned and operated by Aldi Süd (i.e., Karl Albrecht), whereas Trader’s Joe is owned by the late Theo Albrecht (who could not have otherwise accessed the U.S.). Hence, the media is incorrect when stating that they are owned by the same entity.
Aside from that, they target very different segments and will be found in different neighborhoods. ALDI has even fewer national brands than TJ and is significantly more aggressive in pursuing a low cost approach – as such, in most of their stores you pay for shopping bags, have to deposit money to use their shopping carts, checkout lines are longer, store/shelf organization is inferior, and product quality is lower than at TJ (although people like to argue about that).
Last edited by Cogita Ante Scribis; 01-02-2011 at 12:24 PM..
Reason: Typo
Since I moved to WNY, I shop at ALDI's for specific things that are much cheaper and are of the same quality as the more expensive supermarkets. So the comment about inferior quality doesn't apply to all items in the store.
I get milk, eggs, packaged salad, veges and fruits and most meats at a MUCH lower price than at Wegmans (the other supermarket).
Aldi's should be a great addition to the NYC supermarkets.
And although they are owned by different branches of the family, due to low price points there is some overlap on products. I know someone who was freaking out over peppermint joe joe's at Aldi.
I don't think this is going to be a "mega-supermarket" if it's anything like the Aldi stores down here. They are all pretty small(about TJ size) with a more toned down range of selections. I've never seen more than 3 people working at the ones down here although I can imagine the one in Queens will need more folks to handle the crowds. You're less likely to find ethnic foods(outside of Mexican and Italian) there. Still though, they pack a great selection into a small space and the prices are great. I have absolutely no complaints about their quality. It is equal to or superior to name brands in my opinion.
I didn't know they were owned by the same folks who own TJ's. It makes a lot of sense, I've always thought their Winking Owl wine was similar to 2 buck chuck in more ways than just price. It's probably the same thing.
I used to shop at ALDI years ago. I recall you got a lot of groceries for your money, and I never had a problem with the quality of their food. The one thing I found odd at the time was that they didn't accept credit cards (although that may have changed by now) and the cashiers had to memorize the price of every item in the store because they didn't use scanners and didn't put price tags on their items. (Which I've always wondered if that accounted for why they paid their cashiers so well - something like $12 to start back then...??) Again, that may have changed by now, I'm not sure. But I think it's a great little store, especially if you have limited funds for groceries.
Aldi is considered a basic "staple" grocery store. Where you can get your flour,sugar,bread,vegetables, and meats at a lower price. Usually their items are non brand name. I know in my area, You have to bag your own groceries and buy or bring your own bags. If you use a cart, you place a quarter for in the slot, take the cart and when you return it, you get your quarter back.
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