Another German Discount Grocer Enters the Philly Market (at last) (York: sale, 2015)

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Aldi [US] is headquartered in Illinois. Lidl will be headquartered in Virginia.

They are similar but different. This will kill off some substandard chains. It will put pressure on some unnecessarily high priced chains.

I think I know the similarities; what are the differences?

Looking at one comment in particular between yours above and this one, it appears that my impression that Aldi has upped its game is correct. "Rivals Whole Foods as healthiest grocery chain"? Impressive.

(Edited to add: I can't vouch for the legitimacy of the site on which that article appears - given that (a) I'm a journalist and (b) there's a controversy over the role fake news plays in forming opinions online, it matters - but I can say that the facts reported in that article are accurate; Aldi has introduced antibiotic- and hormone-free meats, increased the number of organic products it carries, added a decent selection of what can only be called "specialty foods" to its product mix and added a gluten-free product line ("liveGfree"), all moves aimed IMO at attracting more health-conscious (and most likely more affluent) customers.)

Guess Aldi shoppers get what they pay for and then some.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

And then there is also Costo, BJ's and Sam's Club. I avoid these stores completely because I think they promote over-consumption and wastage.

I've been in a Costco exactly twice and in the other wholesale clubs not at all.

Seems to me that if you have a large family, the ability to buy staple goods in large quantities at low prices would be a plus. I'd have no need whatsoever for buying in the quantities the warehouse clubs sell, nor am I in the market for electronics, jewelry, travel services or the like such that taking out a club membership makes sense on those grounds, so I don't go to those stores. But I can see where there are some Americans who would benefit. As many as belong? That's actually a philosophical discussion beyond the scope of this thread (and which you touch on with your comment above). I'll just add to the chorus that's arguing here that your assessment of Aldi is off base, for reasons I explained at greater length above plus those added by the others.

And I'll also add that there are significant quality differences among cleaning products. That's an area where "you get what you pay for" seems to me a truer statement than in the area of food products. I note that those were the only brand names you listed in that comment. Generally speaking, Procter & Gamble products (Tide, Dawn, Bounty, Mr. Clean, Charmin, Puffs, Febreze...) are the best in their categories. But even P&G recognizes that not everyone's willing to pay the significant price premiums these brands command: they also offer lower-priced products that perform adequately (the "Basic" lines in the paper-goods segment, Gain detergent, Joy dishwashing liquid...) And there are other manufacturers (Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Church & Dwight [Arm & Hammer], Henkels [Dial]) that produce cleaning products that deliver very good results at significantly lower prices.

[2002 Subaru]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

If you think that Aldi = Big Lots good for you. You couldn't be further from the truth, but go ahead & think whatever you want. Just don't continue to pass judgement on Aldi, or the people who shop there.

The German sauerkraut Aldi sells is the best I've ever had ... I go out of my way for it.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by 2002 Subaru

The German sauerkraut Aldi sells is the best I've ever had ... I go out of my way for it.

The hickory bbq sauce that Aldi sells, except in the winter, is very similar to a name brand, but in my opinion is better, for less $. Some of the pasta sauces that come in on weekly specials are identical to the name brand in the same jar, but significantly less money. I love the pumpkin chipotle sauce that comes in once a year, as well as the salted caramel oatmeal that shows up about the same time.

Some of the German & Italian products are worth the gas to get there, even if l wasn't going anyway.

Aldi is the place to go for chocolate. In the EU, they have standards for chocolate.

Some of the regular stock is coming from the same factories that the better store brands are coming from. Some are put up in the same factories that the name brands come from.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I think I know the similarities; what are the differences?

Looking at one comment in particular between yours above and this one, it appears that my impression that Aldi has upped its game is correct. "Rivals Whole Foods as healthiest grocery chain"? Impressive.

(Edited to add: I can't vouch for the legitimacy of the site on which that article appears - given that (a) I'm a journalist and (b) there's a controversy over the role fake news plays in forming opinions online, it matters - but I can say that the facts reported in that article are accurate; Aldi has introduced antibiotic- and hormone-free meats, increased the number of organic products it carries, added a decent selection of what can only be called "specialty foods" to its product mix and added a gluten-free product line ("liveGfree"), all moves aimed IMO at attracting more health-conscious (and most likely more affluent) customers.)

Guess Aldi shoppers get what they pay for and then some.

Aldi & Lidl have overlaps with their stock, but they aren't identical. It remains to be seen what the differences will be when Lidl starts up in the US. Their stores will be bigger than Aldi. Aldi is moving to somewhat bigger stores.

Google Aldi & Lidl & it will bring up articles about how the two have been delivering a one, two punch in England. One of the supermarkets that is being discussed is owned by Walmart.

[2002 Subaru]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

The hickory bbq sauce that Aldi sells, except in the winter, is very similar to a name brand, but in my opinion is better, for less $. Some of the pasta sauces that come in on weekly specials are identical to the name brand in the same jar, but significantly less money. I love the pumpkin chipotle sauce that comes in once a year, as well as the salted caramel oatmeal that shows up about the same time.

Some of the German & Italian products are worth the gas to get there, even if l wasn't going anyway.

Aldi is the place to go for chocolate. In the EU, they have standards for chocolate.

Some of the regular stock is coming from the same factories that the better store brands are coming from. Some are put up in the same factories that the name brands come from.

Thanks. I'll start poking around in there for the items you mentioned.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by 2002 Subaru

Thanks. I'll start poking around in there for the items you mentioned.

The pumpkin chipotle sauce came in in early October. It's long gone until next year. Look for it when the fall stuff starts to come in. Right now look for the German Christmas stuff, including chocolates, as well as other European items.

[2002 Subaru]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

The pumpkin chipotle sauce came in in early October. It's long gone until next year. Look for it when the fall stuff starts to come in. Right now look for the German Christmas stuff, including chocolates, as well as other European items.

Ok, I will.

[lukas1973]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

My pal in the UK sent me a text on Sunday regarding Lidl opening their first store in the US.


I sent him the following response - I'm not a fan of these cheap supermarkets. They sell sub-standard/generic stuff, that's how they keep prices low. You get what you pay for.

Sorry for being frankly, but that's stupid. They keep their prices low by offering a limited assortment of just less than a tenth of the selection of a regular supermarket. That gaves retailers like Aldi or Lidl a huge buying power and it makes the whole distribution a lot less complex. They also keep prices low because they need far fewer employees and have shorter opening hours.
The private label products from Aldi and Lidl are constantly beating well known name brands in taste and quality tests by independent consumer organizations. Huge expenses for advertising and outrageous profit margins of multinational companies are the reason why name brands are so much more expensive than private label brands. I can buy the well known all-purpose cleaner Meister Proper (aka Mr. Clean) from Procter & Gamble. Or I can buy the W5 all-purpose cleaner from Lidl for less than half the price. The private label product from Lidl was the best all-purpose cleaner in the last quality test. The well known Meister Proper from P&G was the worst cleaner. Why should I buy inferior name brand products for an outrageous price, when I can get a much better product for much less?
The tests where Aldi and Lidl products where the winner are countless.

Aldi and Lidl serve a specific segment of the population but they get what they pay for.

That's maybe still the case in the U.S. It was the same in Germany until the mid 80s. But it has changed completely. I prefer to shop at Lidl and Aldi, because of the quality and the value. And their products are mostly made by medium sized family owned manufacturers that operate on much lower profit margins. I prefer those companies over multinational corporations that focus on making investors even richer.

[lukas1973]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

And I'll also add that there are significant quality differences among cleaning products. That's an area where "you get what you pay for" seems to me a truer statement than in the area of food products. I note that those were the only brand names you listed in that comment. Generally speaking, Procter & Gamble products (Tide, Dawn, Bounty, Mr. Clean, Charmin, Puffs, Febreze...) are the best in their categories. But even P&G recognizes that not everyone's willing to pay the significant price premiums these brands command: they also offer lower-priced products that perform adequately (the "Basic" lines in the paper-goods segment, Gain detergent, Joy dishwashing liquid...) And there are other manufacturers (Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Church & Dwight [Arm & Hammer], Henkels [Dial]) that produce cleaning products that deliver very good results at significantly lower prices.

Are you sure about Mr. Clean? The name of this cleaner in Germany is "Meister Proper". It was the worst cleaner in the last quality test. Maybe the formular of Meister Proper in Germany is different from Mr. Clean. I don't know. The washing detergent Ariel and Lenor from Procter & Gamble also end on the last place.

Meister Proper landet bei Stiftung Warentest auf dem letzten Platz | STERN.de

Waschmittel-Test: Stiftung Warentest lobt Aldi- und Lidl-Waschmittel

The advertising expenses of P&G in Germany are about 25% of their revenues. Add the absurd profit margin of about 20%, then you are already close to 50%. It seems obviously that they can't offer better quality products because they don't put more money into the pure production of their products.
The same for toothpaste from Colgate. The test results were mediocre. The results for the toothpaste from Aldi and Lidl were much better. The production of toothpaste cost almost nothing. Why they charge more than 1 Euro or 1 USD for a tube of toothpaste? Even the 45 cents for the toothpaste from Aldi or Lidl seems extremely high to me.