Best Aldi? (Charlotte: credit, to buy, costs)

[soulful]

That is most interesting. I had no idea the same family held both Aldi and Trader Joe's. And I consider them to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Well, just goes to show they know what they are doing in terms of catering to the needs of different folks. Thanks for sharing that factoid bluesky..

[caseyinclarksville]

im glad yall have an aldis that is actually "shoppable." the smell will knock you down upon entrance at the one here. i say, grow your own food!

[Tunky]

Originally Posted by bluesky42day

It's interesting the only alternative given, Trader Joe's, is owned by the same family as Aldi, one brother has one & the other has another. Obviously they believe in great products at great prices.

Wow...I didn't know that. Interesting.

I never saw Aldi in the U.S. until the 90's, but shopped at Aldi in Germany in the 80's. I thought it was a German company.

[bluesky42day]

Without googling it Tunky I think they are German.

[Tunky]

LOL...good point. I was too tired to google last night!

[ritebrained]

Originally Posted by rossc

Replace it with what? Something just as bad? Seriously, most of the time it's just not good quality food. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I'm not into treasure hunting. The canned food we bought at Aldi for ourselves last November went to the Thanksgiving food drive.



It has nothing to do with advertising. It's personal taste. It's the difference between RC Cola and Pepsi or the difference between store brand cereal and brand name. There is a difference and it doesn't cost much more to get better quality food. I guess if I were shopping for a huge family I'd think about it more. They also don't have a lot of the things we need, which means we would still have to go to Walmart or food Lion.

The way everyone talked about it, we thought it would be a great place to shop. I don't see the appeal. It's not like it's a discount supermarket. It's more like the goodwill store, but for food.

The difference is in your mind! Don't you realize most of these foods are coming from the same lines and the same facilities, only to leave with different labeling?

LOL.

[pineywoods]

Love Trader Joes...but it's a bit of a drive, so I don't go often. But Aldis...I have to disagree with the naysayers here. Our Aldis store here in Stow, Ohio is extremely clean and the prices are outstanding compared to any other grocery store around. The veggies and fruit are just as good as anywhere else most of the time. If they happen to be older than I'd like, I just don't buy them. They have a health line called "Fit" something or other...hummus, etc.They have great havarti cheese, quality frozen goods, including Bavarian cream cakes to die for. Nuts are great...I can buy very healthy foods and the quality is very good. Canned goods same thing. For the most part, it's high quality foods. I've shopped everywhere you can imagine, including Earth Fare, Trader Joes, Heinens, and other higher end grocery stores. Our store is great quality. I give 'em a nod!

[IngleDave]

I remember the first time I went into an Aldi. It was the one in Madison and I thought I'd walked into another country. It was mostly foreigners inside and elderly folks. I must admit, I was a bit out of my element by having to do things for myself (that was while back before the self-checkouts). I'm good at it now. It's actually fun trying to keep up the cashiers. Believe me, they'll be fast than you and you many get a bit bamboozled. I agree with piney, it's mostly a good experience for me. If I come across something I don't like, I don't buy it again. But the olive oil, cashews and that $14 spiral cut ham is enough to keep me coming back.

The East Nashville store opens in a couple of days. It's looks almost Trader Joe-ish. Maybe to satisfy some of those who lament the lack of a Publix or Trader Joe's, they should just call it Trader Al's and be done with it. (That wouldn't be you, bluesky....I don't think you're one of "them." lol) I'll be among the first in line Feb. 9

There are things I don't buy there such as cat food, litter, cleaning products, paper products, light bulbs and such because I do believe there are quality issues there, but I've found the food items to be just fine.

[bluesky42day]

LOL Dave I'm originally from Cottontown TN so I'm definitely not one of "them"! I get all of my cleaning products at the Family Dollar in Five Points. As far as having to bag the items yourself it always seems to be one of the things that deters naysayers but I have to do the same thing at Costco & when it's Costco they don't seem to mind! & I do realize this is an Aldi's thread but if anyone has been wanting to get a Costco membership & just isn't quite sure...they get my vote! I don't see it as somewhere I go to get good savings necessarily but they have a humongous meat & seafood section that carries a more exotic selection than you get at most places.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by dsimicata

That is most interesting. I had no idea the same family held both Aldi and Trader Joe's. And I consider them to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Well, just goes to show they know what they are doing in terms of catering to the needs of different folks. Thanks for sharing that factoid bluesky..

They share an identical operating philisophy:

Limited SKUs.
Mostly private label brands.
Name brands only as a promotion.
Prefer stock-out to inventory in the store rooms
Central warehousing over vendor stocking
Tight control over costs
Quality guarantees
Liberal return policy

I have done can-cuttings of Aldi's and private label brands and national brands to examine quality. I do NOT see much difference in quality on most products. In fact, two or three producers generally produce all the national and private label brands these days which explains much of the recent food scares. If one place goes down, everybody is recalling their brands.