Aldi Coming to Park Corner (Carpenter Fire Station in Cary) (Green Level: 2013, stores)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I think Aldi's is the perfect store for people who like to buy off brand food with no consistent inventory. It is also perfect for the person who gets a high on hunting for a bargain. I am not that type of person. I do not like to shop discount stores like TJ Max or Ross because I like things neat and orderly when I shop (a little on the OCD side of things, I guess). I like to be able to find exactly what I am looking for without having to hunt all over the store.
I like to save as much as others, but I also like my sanity.
About 90% of what I get at Aldi's is permenant inventory, there all the time over many years. I enjoy the rotating 'special order' stuff, but your understanding of Aldi is not correct. Doesn't hurt me a bit, but you may be missing out.
Things I get there regularly and save, they are never out:
French Vanilla Creamer
Cheapo coffee (I drink during the week, fresh ground on the weekend)
shredded cheese
Salad stuff
English Muffins
Some beer
Some cheapo wine
crackers
pickles
real mayo
fresh fruit to cut for fruit salad
Occasionally their fresh or frozen pizzas
Fresh/frozen fancy green beans
Fresh/frozen tuna steak
some meats (some good, some not)
slice cheese for sammich
eggs
milk
breakfast cerial
snacks
probably a bunch of other stuff too.
Also, their "special buy stuff:
Smoker
bike pump
food dehydrator
pots/pans
etc.
Often rebranded name brands stuff at a fraction of the cost.
Again, I really don't care if you shop at Aldi or not, but your understanding of what they are is wrong. It works for some, does not work for others. Works good for me because of what I buy and how often I go (couple/few times a month) and they are close to me.
Also, they tend to have better quality on 'most' things. (Not all). Usually no HFCS and stuff like that, which I prefer. They are not "off-brand", much of their stuff is house-brand, and I'm positive much of that is just relabled major brand. (ex: Their fruit and nut snack bars is exactly the same as the national brand, which is Nature's something-something. I used to get them there, now I get them at Costco. The EXACT same product, with a similar but different label.)
I think Aldi's is the perfect store for people who like to buy off brand food with no consistent inventory. It is also perfect for the person who gets a high on hunting for a bargain. I am not that type of person. I do not like to shop discount stores like TJ Max or Ross because I like things neat and orderly when I shop (a little on the OCD side of things, I guess). I like to be able to find exactly what I am looking for without having to hunt all over the store.
I like to save as much as others, but I also like my sanity.
It sounds that you have a misconception of how Aldi actually operates. The core range of Aldi is extremely consistent. The core range count for maybe 70%-90% of the complete range. The other products are weekly changing non food items (clothing, tools, small appliances...) and weekly changing food specialties. But even these weekly changing offerings will mostly return every year. For example a special kind of jam will be available in Aldi stores just once a year. The manufacturer of this jam knows at least several month in advance that they have to produce exactly this kind of jam for the week they are on offer at Aldi. Or look at Greek food specialties at Lidl from. One week they are on offer in France, the next week they are on offer in Italy and then they are on offer in the U.S. A certain product is produced in just one factory in just one package design (but in different languages). Keeps the factory busy and enables to produce at very low costs.
An extremely consistent product range is essential to offer such consistent reasonable prices. It would never work when they would buy surplus production, remnants or what ever is just cheap at a given time. Aldi and Lidl work extremely closely together with manufacturers. They maintain the business relationships to their suppliers mostly for decades. Many former small name brand manufacturers have grown to major manufacturers of private label products. They have expanded their facilities to the same extent as limited assortment grocery retailer have increased their sales.
Keeping the number of suppliers small is very important to offer low prices. Lidl seems to focus on an even smaller number of manufacturers than Aldi. For example the liquid hand soap dispenser at Lidl seems identical in all 28 countries where Lidl operates. It's produced in a factory of a medium sized family owned company at very low profit margins. Producing it in enormous quantities and with the lack of marketing costs you can produce good quality hand soap at extremely low costs. The retail price in Germany for this hand soap is €0.55 per 500ml (16.9 fl oz) dispenser. That already includes 19% VAT. Lidl ship these hand soap dispenser to the U.S. and sells them for $1.69 (without the sales tax). It's probably still a competitive price but with a huge profit margin for Lidl. Sourcing certain products from European suppliers from whom Lidl already buys in huge quantities give Lidl surely an advantage over other retailers. There are quite a lot of products with huge price differences between Europe and the U.S. And Lidl seems to take advantage of these strange price differences. Other good examples are chocolate bars and jam.
I am happy for all of you that like to shop at Aldi. I think it is great! I personally do not like to shop there. I do not buy very many store brand items - they are not exactly the same as some name brand items that I do like. I learned that lesson my first year of college with mayonnaise.
To each his own.
I don't prefer shopping at Aldi's either, but I'm actually not against this store being built. There aren't that many grocery stores in this part of Cary, so I think having another grocery store in that area will be nice.
I do not buy very many store brand items - they are not exactly the same as some name brand items that I do like.
Actually, at large volume retailers like Aldi, Costco, etc, the store brand may be made in the same factory, on the same production line as the name brand. The secret is to give them all a try. Some may be duds, like the mayonnaise. Others may be winners to continue with.
[quote=don6170;48551687]Actually, at large volume retailers like Aldi, Costco, etc, the store brand may be made in the same factory, on the same production line as the name brand. The secret is to give them all a try. Some may be duds, like the mayonnaise. Others may be winners to continue with.[/QUOTE
May or may not.... I will stick with the things I know and trust. Thanks though!
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