I find it quite amusing, that a lot of the reasons why Walmart failed in Germany seem to be the direct opposites of the reasons why Aldi performs well in the US
I mean, what the hell was Walmart thinking in Germany?... it's like they never stepped foot in Germany but thought they were German culture experts. It was such a hilarious and expensive poor mistake
Walmart's American model, based on friendliness and extensive selection, clashed with German shopping culture, while Aldi's German model of minimalism and efficiency has been embraced in the U.S. Essentially, what worked well for Walmart in its home country failed miserably abroad due to cultural and market differences, while Aldi successfully adapted and thrived by leveraging its core strengths in the opposite market.
@@maximusasauluk7359 I don't think, they thought of themselves as "experts on German culture". I think they simply didn't care at all. They had their well and tested method of running things and assumed this would work anywhere. I mean come on. We Germans have a worldwide recognition of not liking smalltalk, yet they did it anyway.
U.S. Aldi cashiers put the groceries in customers carts? If my German cashier does this, it means I WAS TOO SLOW and couldn't keep up with them scanning
@@JulesAl-Mighty In Germany, you do it yourself, not the cashier. ;) In the scene, the customers just stood around and let the cashier put everything in the shopping cart. And yes, the shopping cart fits exactly in the corner, so that you as a customer can push things that are not fragile straight into it, or the cashier can immediately recognize goods bought in boxes that are not specially placed on the conveyor belt. (E.g. bottles, milk cartons, etc.)
@ the video was patched up with generic stock images. Every Aldi I’ve been to in the States is laid out the same way. The conveyor belt, the cashier, and a shopping cart directly beside the cashier. I ❤️ Aldi, and I’m so glad they are expanding here in the States. Everybody should have one close by.
@@valevisa8429 Lidl and Kaufland are both owned by the SCHWARZ Group ( Mr. Dieter Schwarz, the owner is the richest German) Lidl and Kaufland combine their buying power to reduce buying prices. It is just a different store concept. Kaufland stores are bigger with more items, but as efficient as Lidl and Aldi.
I‘m German. What I learned to like about Aldi is their no BS approach. You don’t get a shopping experience (??), you get groceries. It is good to keep things short and simple. If, after saving so much money and time, the only thing left to do is looking out of the window, well then - look out of the window! Or talk to a stranger and have a real experience after all.
and they have their own quality control. They don't add articles just to have more choice, without sorrowly checking them. Everything they sell is at least ok. And since their number of articles is lower, those also don't sit as long in the shelf - less preservatives needed.
Believe me Friend they would be Welcome in the United States! I have shopped Aldi in another City, I was well Pleased with their Store! Come on over and Build More ALDIS. Love your POLAR SALMON Bring Plenty when you come.
Yes but Aldi does work their people hard. I'm an employer and always hear these "people need to be paid more" arguments but a lot of people don't want to work as hard as they need to in order to maintain the productivity that can allow a company to pay high wages.
@@objectivethinker3225nothing wrong with being worked hard if you are rewarded accordingly. They pay very well and overtime even more so. In the UK staff get 20 days vacation plus bank holidays, store workers in the US could only dream of that.
The cashier is putting the food into the cart after scanning? Wow. This VIP treatment does only happen in the US. In Germany no cashier at any kind of supermarket would do this. They just scan and you have to hurry up to be as fast as possible to pack your things into your cart… otherwise it will fall on the ground. 😂
In Finland Lidl tried that and they quickly had to start doing it the Finnish way where you have space after the cashier that is divided in to two sections with a divider so that your stuff goes to one section and then next customers stuff to next section. You have time to pack your stuff until third person enters. Now Lidl has extended this practice to other countries too. Finnish just laughed when they saw Lidls first attempt with German style stuff. 😂
@@verttikoo2052 German Discounters used to have such packaging-zones with deviders. I never thought about why they are gone. It must be efficiency. Think about what it costs.😅 2qm per cashier more estate.
Coins for using shopping carts is standard in most European countries for decades - but coins to be used are 1 or even 2 Euro, roughly 1 or 2 dollar. Bagging merchandises for the customer is absolutely uncommon in Europe
As a German who lived at many places, I can proudly say our discount chains are best in class efficiency. I loved it, zero frills, great value. Happy the US can benefit now too!
@@dulcamarabuffoWell, if you are a foreigner who has to rely on train in Germany, you def. have already two of our biggest national disappointments sitting on your back: the burocratic system and the "Deutsche Bahn". Both are indeed perfect signs of inefficiency.
Walmart tried to establish itself in Germany in the mid 90s-2005 and competed against Aldi and other discounters (they failed), now it's payback time for Aldi xD
But they failed because they didn't understand the culture. Their methods alienated the Germans. For example a "greeter" is seen as super strange and makes Germans uncomfortable. Also their morning ritual was very bad. Chanting and singing in that motivational manner was a method the Nazis did. So for a German it's very offensive. And their "we have everything" approach broke some competition law. Plus their refusal of unions made some bad press.
The one compromise that Aldi makes in the US is that the cashier puts the items in your cart. In Germany the customer is responsible for grabbing the items as quickly as the cashier can scan them. And if you're under 80 years of age, you better keep up with the cashier, or the other customers will get pissed at you. 🙂
My aunt was a branch manager of an Aldi in Germany for most of her life. When I was a kid, cashiers didn't even have item scanners, because Aldi refused to buy and maintain these costly machines. Instead, every item was categorized into a prize like 0.49€, 0.99€, 1.99€, and so on. The cashiers MEMORIZED these and typed everything into the register. They got crazy quick at it too, so the barcode scanners weren't a huge improvement timewise.
You seem to be too young to get your memories right. Aldi did not "refuse" anything, but barcode scanning and the implementation and rollout of EAN barcodes started in the early 1980ies. The Aldi cashiers during the 70ies and 80ies would NOT type in prices, but the internal article no., usually three digits long, of every item. They were able to do this so quickly and precisely that scanner checkouts no longer had any advantage in terms of speed. It was only with the introduction of fully automated stock management systems (SCM) that they became indispensable at Aldi.
@@gerohubner5101 It was definitely not the 70s or 80s, since I was born in the 80s and my aunt was still doing it well into my teens, so late 90s. Sure, it might have been the article number, not the price, but that changes very little in terms of effort. And yes, Aldi very much REFUSED to do it because of the investment needed. I remember, that my aunt talked about it as a huge internal discussing, before it got rolled out. She was a branch manager after all (Filialleiterin).
Agree, those scanners made ALDI slower and I still remember how they did it: put their arm somewhere between the items and than they hammered into the register in lightning speed and when everything up to their arm was tipped in, one swoop to shove everything in the cart.
And Aldi started to use Barcode scanners in the late 90s. And to still be fast, They put the Barcodes on several sides on the packaging so the cashiers can swipe the items in nearly every position.
Until late 90´s ALDI also refuses to have phones in there stores. In these days most products where presented on a Euro-Palet. Only Spices and such small items put on shelfs.
When I was a kid in the late 80s there was a stigma with Aldi due to the poor quality of their offerings. Yes, they were cheaper but you got what you paid for. Aldi of today however is an entirely different story! Their selection and quality is amazing on the private brands they offer at a fraction of the cost of the big stores. I'm a beliver.
Aldi started changing during the 90s. Since the beginning of the zero years the quality of the fresh food and of the non-food is very good an the prices are reasonable. I still have duvet covers I bought 2002 - they are very good and they still look good. They were really worth their money.
I don‘t think that‘s true. Aldi in Germany was always known for it‘s high quality products. What has changed significantly is the variety. Aldi used to just have one of each- which I actually preferred- it added to the savings, as you weren’t tempted as much, and you could be sure the things that are there are of a good quality and fresh. I just HATE having to search through 50 types of joghurt.
I drive 20 miles through LA traffic to get to the nearest Aldi. I save so much it's worth the drive. Kroger/Ralph's and Albertsons/Vons are all ridiculously expensive to shop at.
Give it some more time, and that distance will drop. One of the major advantages of the higher efficiency is that even fairly small shops with an equivally small customer base can still operate profitably. For example in Germany you've got 20k discount markets, basically one for every 4k inhabitants. Only 20% of those are ALDI mind you, as we do have other discount chains over here. LA's 4 million inhabitants could easily house 1k such shops, basically 2 per square mile.
I walk three minutes to the nearest Aldi in my walkable, public transport heavy german city.. I also have two more upscale supermarkets within walking distance. I should check on my car one of these days. Haven't used it in weeks... 😅
Next step: A plastic/glass bottle deposit scheme like in Germany. We pay 25 cents per bottle when we buy, and when we return the bottle, we get those 25 cents back. It has cut back a huge amount of what otherwise would have gone to trash or just discarded in nature.
@@uwehansen2915in Denmark you can buy in any store and get your deposit back in any other shop, so the system doesn't tie you to a certain store. 8:28
@@gaborbakos7058Not the whole of Europe. Only 13 countries have this schem and all, but one, joind in 2007 when it was introduced, Lithuania joined in 2016. Here, in Spain, we do not have it but More than 80% recycle which includes throw buttles into recycle bins. We do not have "trash pick up days" ( \at least not in cities) as we have big bins for all major types on the streets within a short walking distance, andose are emptied on a regular bases. For more specific thing we have the green collection points that will take most other things (for things like old furniture we need to take them doen in the evening on a specific date for collection). We do pay a collection tax but you can get a discount for bringing things to the recycle centers.
@@uwehansen2915 The good thing about the system is that bottles and cans with 25 cent deposit can be returned at any store. So if you buy a bottle at Lidl, you can return it at Aldi and the other way round. If every store had their own system, that would be horrible. How would I know where I bought what bottle at.
Love my local Aldi. Especially the European products that I find and get to try. Aldi doesn't have everything, my local Fareway has far better meat at the counter, but Aldi is where to go to get the essentials.
the shopping cart thing is actually something every german super market does quite a lot stopped it during covid though but due to the whole „bring the shopping cart back“ being so ingrained in our minds (it’s just something you obviously do) there wasn’t really a problem even without the monetary incentive in general most of this stuff is just german efficiency at work haha i work in a grocery story in germany myself and it’s honestly a pretty chill job but they are very focused on efficiency and speed
I can still remember a time when German stores didn't have the coin system on their carts. Not sure who started it or when exactly, but it must have been late 80ies to early 90ies.
It should also be noted that in Germany, Aldi has contracts with producers and manufacturers to rebrand their wares to Aldi brands. Exactly the same product, only without the name brand recognition. If you look closely, you'll see that some of the store brands might look very similar to well-known brands -- similar color schemes and/or fonts, a slightly altered name ... and the ingredient list will be identical to the name band. Aldi still buys in bulk, the manufacturer still sells their product, but the whole advertising machinery and cost is taken out of the equation and leads to cheaper prices. An easy trick that serves both the company and the customer. Also, at least Aldi Nord often is situated right next to a regular grocery chain franchise, like Rewe. Anything Aldi doesn't carry, the customer can get next door just by crossing the parking lot (or worst case, across the street). In fact, my closest Aldi store not only is less than 100 yards from Rewe -- too close to even move the car -- but also has a drugstore discounter literally right next to it. All three stores are thriving, despite some overlap, and can even afford to distribute weekly flyers to the households in the area, so that you don't even have to check online for special offers. This, in fact, builds customer loyalty -- while the chains have regular weekly sales on a number of items in all the stores in a city, some special offers might be store-specific, which is noted in the flyer.
In Germany, the major grocery chains sell similar goods to those in ALDI's core segment at the same price. They hardly make a profit, but the customer then buys other goods that are not available in the small ALDI. Which in turn meant that ALDI stores had to become larger in order to offer more selection.
I appreciate the relaxed sales atmosphere in US supermarkets. So here are some tips for US Americans who want to visit an Aldi in Germany and might experience culture shock: 1. Wear safety shoes and protective vests when entering. The shelves are filled by exchanging pallets using hand trucks. They will be run over and left lying around without consideration. It is good that you will get the medical care you need even without health insurance. 2. Never leave your shopping cart in the middle of the aisle. The shopping carts have special tires for driving fast and are designed in such a way that the German customer can flee the supermarket in five minutes. A late consequence of the many currency reforms and inflation where money could lose its value on the way to the checkout. Or just a strange rule that every German follows. Germans love rules. 3. Never ask a salesperson where you can find a product. She doesn't know. Either you know it yourself or you look for it yourself. In case of doubt, this is proof that you don't need the product and that you can do without it. This also puts the 5-minute rule in jeopardy. 4. When you approach the checkout with your purchases, watch the traffic jam at the 2 checkouts out of 6 that are open. At regular intervals, another checkout is opened while another checkout is closed when the cashier no longer feels like it. This is your chance to meet the 5-minute rule. As soon as the light of a checkout appears, storm the newly opened checkout with your cart. It is perfectly normal to push 2 or 3 competitors into the pile of cans. Always remember - shopping time is wasted life time. 5. Never pay with exact change at the checkout and announce it happily. The people in the queue at the checkout will immediately despise you (see 5-minute rule). Keep your credit card ready to hand like Americans keep their guns. The faster you leave, the more your visit will be appreciated. 6. When you put your goods in the cart yourself at the checkout, you need to have a strategy in place. The heavy goods at the bottom, the light goods at the top. The entire purchase must be perfectly sorted in the shopping cart in under 15 seconds. If you don't manage this, you will be rewarded with ridicule and scorn from the queue behind you. Maybe even worse. Make sure you follow these rules during your shopping experience.
@@Arsenic71 Most private brands are produced by well known brands. You can google lists of who produces what for ALDI. I dont think there are many facillitys in the US that can produce a copy of "Cheerios". Remember ALDI needs huge quantities and reliable quallity. So they have to go to "Cheerios" and barter.
Aldi and lidl here in Ireland.. They are both very popular.. I shop there too..stuff just cheaper there and quality good.. I would recommend them, and there packed stores speak for themselves 🧐🇮🇪
We've had Aldi South at various locations in Wisconsin for a long time (maybe because many of us have last names like I do). They are building a new one in my town, New London, which is nice because it's right on my way home from work, and we needed another grocery store.
I don’t see anybody in Europe leaveinhthe cart in the middle of the parking lot. Some basic education is obviously required on the other side of the Atlantic
While the US is still at ALDI lvl.1: Having to bag their items themselves, our ALDI store recently got renovated and now lets cashiers manage two customers at the same time: There are two separate 'end zones' where the scanned items go into, each one with their own Card Reader and receipt printer. Once your end zone is filled with items and you tell the cashier that you don't want to pay in cash, they are no longer required to help you and immediately start fireing scanned items into the second end Zone. It's amazing. Also from an IT standpoint: the cash registers must be able to handle multiple customers at once and flawlessly switch between them.
Add-on - ours now have this, and additionally also self-service tills managed by the same assistant who's doing the "dual-lane" checkout. So essentially 6 check outs from 1 person.
This is fascinating to watch from a Dutch perspective. Here in my Netherlands the dust of this Aldi revolution has settled many years ago and large legacy supermarket chains have learned their lesson. Most are now at the same price levels as Aldi (or lower) while stocking more items and providing more service. Consequently the market share of Aldi has shrunk significantly in the Netherlands. Aldi Netherlands recently made a public promise to return to their basics of no frills and unbeatable low prices. So far I haven't seen any proof of that.
Fan fact about the cashier system. Aldi introduced bar code scanner registers maybe 20 years ago here in Germany. Before this the cashier had to enter a code into the register, and they knew the most common items by heart. They were faster than tzhe supermarkets where they scanned the barcodes. Not having much different items helps with that too. .
They were not only faster than their competition with scanners ... they were also faster than you, the customer, putting your stuff into bags or back into the cart! You needed a friend/spouse helping you to make this a fair fight :) And you'd think they would do a lot of mistakes but, alas, they made so few that checking was a waste of time
Ah, finally the US gets a chance to experience the superior shopping experience. In Romania, we absolutely love German stores. We don't have Aldi, but Lidl is extremely popular, followed by Kaufland, Auchan, and Carrefour (though I think Carrefour is French).
Lidl is quite big in Finland. When I used to live there I went to Lidl once a month and bought all the basic stuff from there for the whole month and took a taxi back home. Lots of stuff.
I recently saw food prices in a store around San Diego and it was immediately clear to me that Aldi would just destroy the competition if they opened it their vicinity.
Wait till you hear about Lidl 😅 a much better discounter in my opinion. In France, Lidl is booming while Aldi is really struggling but every market is different. Good job Aldi for changing the grocery store landscape in the US
This is amusing to see just how inefficient US stores are runned compared to the EU standard. The only thing Germany does diffrently then here in Sweden - and worse I might add - is that you don’t have space to pack your groceries directly at the cashier. Our checkouts are bigger and sectioned at the end so two customers can bag their stuff at the same time.
They introduced that system recently to Aldi stores in Germany. I guess they couldn't do it earlier because a lot of people still pai(d) with cash and then the system doesn't work. It only works well when every section at the end has their own card terminal and everybody pays with their card or phone.
A funny thing about the coin system is, that basically every supermarket in Germany (and in Europe in general as far as I know) has been doing that for many, many years. A few years back, the biggest supermarket in my area stopped doing that again and it works just fine, because now, all customers bring back their carts anyways.
Just one tiny bit of info about Aldi‘s beginning in Germany: competitors tried to bad mouth Aldi‘s product quality, but Aldi focused on a two-fold strategy even more strictly: to offer the cheapest product of at least the same or better quality than other Supermarkets. And they succeeded. For years they offered the best quality to price ratio. The competition between Discounters and Supermarkets in Germany is fierce (as Walmart can vouch for). Both Aldi companies and Lidl are the three at the top. (At least in Germany) no one comes close in price / quality ratio!
And even Rewe, which isn't a discounter is more efficient as a Walmart. They do have more products, but a lot of products are still in the delivered packaging and you have a lot of self checkouts. Of course they do not do things like bringing shopping cards back. The only other costly thing besides more products is probably that you can buy vegetables and fruits in very small samples and they weigh them for you so you do not have to use different bags and weigh them yourself
Before seeing these "Why Aldi/Lidl succeeds in insert_country" videos I never even noticed that there was no music in the stores (I am German). The boxes that the products are stacked in also did not seem cheap to me. As they have their brand design on them and many German shoppers use them to stack their shopped items (instead of using a cart) it never occurred to me that they should not be there. I also appreciate the quick shopping I do there. Every time I go to a big store to get a few special items the discounter do not have I know why I love the small stores. The big isles with 1000 versions of basically the same thing really just steal your time. You just don't select a different brand or flavor of something each time you do your weekly groceries. You get the same brands/items, maybe some snack item catches your attention. But otherwise, it's a chore. Why would a chore need to be exciting rather than quick and efficient?
Aldi does not usually produce its own goods. The products under its own brand are produced by the major brands and then simply put in different packaging.😉
That is not true. Many major brand companies do not product private label. And if they to, they will make sure they use a different recipe for their own premium brand vs. the private labels or Aldi. Most Aldi products are manufactured by smaller companies that are dedicated to producing private labels.
At least in Germany it is true that Aldi simply has repackaged brand name products. It's even recognizable when you check out the original producer's address, and cross index it with the private label. It may be a different name for the company but it's often still the same zip code. Large name brand companies create tiny subsidiaries who do nothing but packaging the products. That is not the case for all Aldi or discount products, but for a surprisingly large number. In the meantime Aldi has advanced so far that companies aren't reluctant about selling their products there for fear of being associated with cheap or worthless products.
@@Hupjeflupje I agree that the recipies may be slightly different from the branded products, but the private label products come out of the same production line.
@@Hupjeflupje Many, many years ago, I had a girlfriend who worked at one of the then major ready-made meal producers, called Erasco. She was working at the production line and told me that, when filling up tins with soup or similar, they stopped after a certain amount of branded tins were filled and then changed the machine to add an Aldi label. The tin was filled with exactly the same soup as the Erasco-branded one. However, she said with certain products that required expensive meat, they changed the recipe slightly by adding a little bit less meat to the Aldi tins than to the Erasco-branded ones.
It's very common in Germany's ALDI, that the private labelled goods are just rebadged well-known brands. Same stuff, different package. That allowed the brands to ramp up production, increasing efficiency and thus allowing them to increase their margins on their brands, while ALDI got access to what they want to sell at a bargain price. The biggest selling point to me is the no-frills experience. They want to get you in and out fast, so you don't block their small aisles. No "shopping worlds", no "customer experiences" and all that jazz, just get your stuff and go. Just the way I like it - and apparently a lot of other people too. Finally, their own brands that they getting produced for themselves usually fare quite well on comparisons. Ususally the quality is in the top third or better in comparisons, with typically only special brands at significantly higher prices are better.
Aldi is pretty good here downunder. Not surprised the format does well in most markets. The one in my town has self checkouts now. Making it even more efficient and convenient.
No you don’t. In Germany the grocery stores all have the same prices. Differences just occur because of some weekly discounts. But even then Aldi don’t have more or better discounts then the competition
@@ItsJockl All basic products from Aldi, Lidl, ja, and Gut&Günstig have the exact same prices. (I’ve made this experience and various product comparison videos show the same) Apart from that prices might differ if one or another store has an in-house brand or not. For fruits and vegetables the discounters are cheaper, but do not differ from one another very much, at least when I compare the prices. As a result, depending on your consumer behavior, there is not much space for price differences. So even when you come out a bit cheaper with Aldi, because of your product choices, there is no way to save 40%. It is impossible. The food prices in Germany are low overall, so there is no way you could save that much. In particular not if you compare Aldi with other discounters.
40%? Compared to what? Certainly not Lidl, Penny or Rewe, not even Edeka. You'd have to pick very specific items and compare the knock-off brands to the originals in order to get 40%. But if you do a regular shopping tour for the most common items and pick well known brands from both or store-brands from both you'd get way smaller margins.
I switched to Aldi almost a year ago and I'm happy paying 40% less compared to my previous grocery store chain. In the meantime Aldi opened a second store in our area.
In Australia you have to put in either a $1 or $2 coin. You certainly return the trolly! In the small regional city of around 35,000 people where I live we have two Aldi stores, so you can see how popular they are here as well. I prefer to go to one that is a bit further away because they have a self checkout line which is great to use because it does not do that frustrating weighing of items you check out to prevent theft. Makes shopping very quick, especially if you are only going to grab just a few items.
Their own label foods are also high quality. And the smaller footprint shops are better for older people and the disabled. No hiking round aisles of stuff I don't need. UK stopper
I use Lidl and Aldi here in the uk. They are inexpensive and efficient. Also most of their products are very good quality. They definitely do not carry everything you need so you will use the larger competitors to supplement your shopping.
The best part is the coin for the shopping cart. For us German ist totally normal. But there is one other important fact: In Germany the Aldi Cashier calculate the change by themselves and not the cashier system. How is it in the US? In Germany it's only at Aldi. It's crazy how optimized Aldi is.
Today I shopped at Lidl (same style, different owner). I checked tooth floss (Zahnseide) . They offer 1 brand with these variations: normal, mint taste , waxed. And that's it. Quick shopping, keeping shop costs low.
Interesting/informative/entertaining 😉. Entered once looked around then left empty handed😲. Melbourne Florida 🐊 ( HWY 192) Prices about the same as competition. No ( Buy on get One ) Very long waiting times/long lines due to one cashier😕. Will continue with( Publix )
I am sure, Aldi or Lidl will enter Canada soon if they did not do yet. They can not grow in Germany any more and also not in most other countries in europe because they already filled the space, so they have to go oversees. They e´ven start in China now
Excellent video, thanks for the info. Aldi had me at taking care of their employees when I saw their cashiers could sit down. That was it. It's efficient, no biggie, simple, they can scan my stuff, and we move on. No need for them to stand up, and do too much. There seem to be a war in the retail industry and in work places in general, between seeing how much rules and etiquettes we need to have to "wow" our customers, and keeping it to the bare essentials to just get the job done. I personally subscribe more to the later. As a worker so that I can actually focus on the job itself, and as a customer because I know the employees aren't selling themselves away to get me to spend my money
Here in their home market Germany they have large 3 digit numbers on heavy items like bottled drinks or cat litter for example. Customers are asked to leave them in the cart so the cashier doesn't have to lift them. Do they do that in the US, too?
@@BigWhoopZH It depends. From my experience, most of the time yes they lift them. Other times, some stores have hand scanners, so that the cashiers hold them and come around to scan the barcode of the item on the cart. And in few other cases, they have stickers with the barcode of large items on hand so that they can scan it without having to carry them
2:30 bro, in Europe that's the rule for every shopping store. If you don't have a quarter in your pocket the personnel will gladilly provide you with a plastic replica, but even then every costumer will return and relock the shopping cart... It's just common sense there The costumers will often keep the replica for future shoppings, but that piece of plastic is worth less than a penny so the store won't feel it...
Thanks for taking the time. I think I have to correct my statement. With competitors I meant Super Markets, in my area like Edeka or Rewe. The 40% aren‘t calculated, but my honest perception. I see the biggest differences in meat and vegetable prices. In my preception Lidl an Aldi share quiet comparable prices. Maybe we find common ground on those statements.
In Germany, Aldi is also known for its brutal procurement practices. Leveraging their market strength is one thing, but they are infamous for their ruthlessness.
In germany we have the two way cashier checkout. So the cashier can checkout 2 people, cause a "long" part of the waiting-time is the paying-process via card, and the packing up the items. Also ALDI, LIDL etc. had to change a bit to more "luxury" by adding some popular brands(Coca-Cola), cause there were some years, when the normal supermarkets/luxury was in trend
Aldi and also Lidl have the middle aisle products which are well priced, good quality consumer products such as clothing, homeware, diy products, toys and electronic goods which buyers like to see and purchase.
In Germany anlot of other supermarkets can beat Aldi‘s prices! We have for example Lidl, Netto and Penny, that are also discounters with the same low-price range. All the other supermarkets have a range with no-name products that are as cheap as the equivalent at the discounters.
@@Nuevala Right, but when you look at the quality or quality / price ratio Aldi (and Lidl are best IMHO. Netto, Penny and Norma might have comparable prices, but (at least with some items) quality sucks, is lower. The Supermarkets (Rewe, Edeka) might have comparable quality and prices, but a much smaller range of low cost products. Their regular products are much more expensive. I have shoppen at all of the above, even both Aldis (the demarcation line is just through the city next door. For me, my personal Rating is: Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Lidl, Rewe, Edeka, Kaufland, Netto, Norma, Penny (though I only use the first 6 semi- regularly). Rewe / Edeka rating depends a lot on the local store, they differ. Of course it depends on your own personal choice of items, but over all Aldi and Lidl really try hard to deliver good products for a low price, and they mostly succeed. But it is a fierce battle, fought again every new week.
I haven't watched the video, but let me guess: Walmart cannot compete because their share holders expect an unhealthy annual growth in combination with high margins, while ALDI simply needs to cover their costs.
Be aware. The same products sold in different supermarket chains may have different nutrition values! For example, in Australia, if you compare same brand A2 milk sold in Aldi and local market chain Woolworth. The A2 from Aldi is cheaper but with less nutrient. I never shopped in Aldi after i compared them.
As a european I was shocked and laughing that the shopping cart system was a mew concept to Americans. this can't be real. They would rather hire an entire human for this 😂
"No name goods" at Aldi and Co., or so-called own brands, often come from well-known manufacturers. In fact, there are even books with the actual well-known manufacturers behind the "no name products". (I don't know if these books are available for countries other than Germany.) The product under the name "Aldi own brand" can be much cheaper than the identical product under the actual company name.
The US will learn how good Aldi and the other German store Lidl is. They’ve essentially taken over the UK market from the likes of Tesco and Asda (the latter recently owned by Walmart). Quality and low prices but fewer choices.
When I shop at Aldi in Germany, I always look forward to competing with the cashier. Who is faster - the cashier at scanning or me at putting the items in the shopping cart. I usually win .....but not always LOL
what I don't like at Aldi's is that you are forced (even during covid) to take someone else's shopping cart at checkout. So, you spend a lot of time cleaning the cart you use at entry to avoid even getting a cold or flu during the colder season just to take someone else's cart back to the car to put your groceries away. I am happy that there is a Lidl close by as well.
There are also supermarkets in Germany without locked shopping carts. Mostly people do understand (and maybe are trained - lol) to bringing the cart back. But the majority uses coins.
I find it quite amusing, that a lot of the reasons why Walmart failed in Germany seem to be the direct opposites of the reasons why Aldi performs well in the US
Because Americans are horribly inefficient in a lot of ways. So its quite easy to improve that with a LITTLE brain usage.
Exactly! I think comparing Aldi in the US and Walmart in Germany is a really good case-study of the grocery industry.
I mean, what the hell was Walmart thinking in Germany?... it's like they never stepped foot in Germany but thought they were German culture experts. It was such a hilarious and expensive poor mistake
Walmart's American model, based on friendliness and extensive selection, clashed with German shopping culture, while Aldi's German model of minimalism and efficiency has been embraced in the U.S. Essentially, what worked well for Walmart in its home country failed miserably abroad due to cultural and market differences, while Aldi successfully adapted and thrived by leveraging its core strengths in the opposite market.
@@maximusasauluk7359 I don't think, they thought of themselves as "experts on German culture". I think they simply didn't care at all. They had their well and tested method of running things and assumed this would work anywhere. I mean come on. We Germans have a worldwide recognition of not liking smalltalk, yet they did it anyway.
U.S. Aldi cashiers put the groceries in customers carts?
If my German cashier does this, it means I WAS TOO SLOW and couldn't keep up with them scanning
I would consider that rude for a cashier to pack my bags. Interesting how different societies have different conventions
Yeah same here I am from the netherlands and no way in hell would the cashier bag your products unless they have some kind of disability
The shopping cart is directly beside them, there’s nowhere else for them to put the item after they’ve scanned it. It goes straight into the cart.
@@JulesAl-Mighty In Germany, you do it yourself, not the cashier. ;) In the scene, the customers just stood around and let the cashier put everything in the shopping cart.
And yes, the shopping cart fits exactly in the corner, so that you as a customer can push things that are not fragile straight into it, or the cashier can immediately recognize goods bought in boxes that are not specially placed on the conveyor belt. (E.g. bottles, milk cartons, etc.)
@ the video was patched up with generic stock images. Every Aldi I’ve been to in the States is laid out the same way. The conveyor belt, the cashier, and a shopping cart directly beside the cashier.
I ❤️ Aldi, and I’m so glad they are expanding here in the States. Everybody should have one close by.
Be aware:
- Lidl joined the US Server
- Kaufland joined the US Server
- Ghetto-Netto joined the US Server
Ghetto-Netto 🤣🤣🤣🤣
that was just a warmup. Wait until we send Penny and Norma. Than its Joever for Walmart
Co tam z Bedronką ?
Lidl yes,but Kaufland ?! No ,they are not cheep.
@@valevisa8429 Lidl and Kaufland are both owned by the SCHWARZ Group ( Mr. Dieter Schwarz, the owner is the richest German) Lidl and Kaufland combine their buying power to reduce buying prices. It is just a different store concept. Kaufland stores are bigger with more items, but as efficient as Lidl and Aldi.
I‘m German. What I learned to like about Aldi is their no BS approach. You don’t get a shopping experience (??), you get groceries. It is good to keep things short and simple. If, after saving so much money and time, the only thing left to do is looking out of the window, well then - look out of the window! Or talk to a stranger and have a real experience after all.
and they have their own quality control. They don't add articles just to have more choice, without sorrowly checking them. Everything they sell is at least ok. And since their number of articles is lower, those also don't sit as long in the shelf - less preservatives needed.
Too much work in aldi, no auto checkout, self checkout. Utterly technologically behind . My indian grocery stores are much faster than aldi. 😅😅
Germans talking to strangers? As an international student living in Germany, that sounds funny to me. They are so reserved
Believe me Friend they would be Welcome in the United States! I have shopped Aldi in another City, I was well Pleased with their Store! Come on over and Build More ALDIS.
Love your POLAR SALMON Bring Plenty when you come.
Memo: Aldi pays higher wages then many other discounters
And have enough money to buy them chairs, what an outrage...
At least in Germany Aldi is renowned comparatively very good wages
Yes but Aldi does work their people hard. I'm an employer and always hear these "people need to be paid more" arguments but a lot of people don't want to work as hard as they need to in order to maintain the productivity that can allow a company to pay high wages.
In the UK they pay higher wages than any other supermarket.
@@objectivethinker3225nothing wrong with being worked hard if you are rewarded accordingly. They pay very well and overtime even more so. In the UK staff get 20 days vacation plus bank holidays, store workers in the US could only dream of that.
I love how this is just the regular German shopping experience.
No we also have Rewe and Edeka, which offer a better shopping experience. I mostly go to Rewe bc they have more items and it’s just better organised
@ bro like I am not from Germany
@@bratwurstler2647 yeah but in the end i dont think theres is a worser but also cheaper supermarket than Penny 😂 or Tedi
The cashier is putting the food into the cart after scanning? Wow. This VIP treatment does only happen in the US. In Germany no cashier at any kind of supermarket would do this. They just scan and you have to hurry up to be as fast as possible to pack your things into your cart… otherwise it will fall on the ground. 😂
never happened any cashier let it fall on the ground but they wit with a verry anoyed look on their face so u feel prerssured to hurry XD
That might keep elder people young😅
In Finland Lidl tried that and they quickly had to start doing it the Finnish way where you have space after the cashier that is divided in to two sections with a divider so that your stuff goes to one section and then next customers stuff to next section. You have time to pack your stuff until third person enters. Now Lidl has extended this practice to other countries too. Finnish just laughed when they saw Lidls first attempt with German style stuff. 😂
@@verttikoo2052 German Discounters used to have such packaging-zones with deviders. I never thought about why they are gone. It must be efficiency. Think about what it costs.😅 2qm per cashier more estate.
@ Now you are not thinking efficiently. That divider gives the cashier faster access to the next customer while the one is packing.
Coins for using shopping carts is standard in most European countries for decades - but coins to be used are 1 or even 2 Euro, roughly 1 or 2 dollar.
Bagging merchandises for the customer is absolutely uncommon in Europe
Most People use coin size metal or plastic tokens these days. (I always carry a coin size washer in my pocket)
@@AndreasKoeniger
It's more "some people".
But still works that customers return the shopping cart to one of the cart bases.
@@jean-emmanuelrotzetter6030 Might depend on the specific country, in Germany it's definitly "most".
Even better: I have one of these keychain tools that can be removed from the cart after unlocking. I still bring the cart back, though.
Problem in the US is that they have a bill for 1$ not a coin. So they‘re using another value for the coin
Aldi is probably the current best example of German perfected efficiency.
I have lived in Germany for 25 years and can sadly say that most of Germany is remarkably inefficient and bureaucratic.
@@dulcamarabuffoBut compared to the US Germany is still way better.
@@EmotionalWeathereven Spain at noon is more efficient than US. 😂
As a German who lived at many places, I can proudly say our discount chains are best in class efficiency. I loved it, zero frills, great value. Happy the US can benefit now too!
@@dulcamarabuffoWell, if you are a foreigner who has to rely on train in Germany, you def. have already two of our biggest national disappointments sitting on your back: the burocratic system and the "Deutsche Bahn".
Both are indeed perfect signs of inefficiency.
Walmart tried to establish itself in Germany in the mid 90s-2005 and competed against Aldi and other discounters (they failed), now it's payback time for Aldi xD
"Wollt ihr den totalen Preiskrieg?!?"
Maybe Lidl is next to compete in the US ...
@@Klaffify Lidl is, arguably, even better than Aldi
But they failed because they didn't understand the culture.
Their methods alienated the Germans. For example a "greeter" is seen as super strange and makes Germans uncomfortable. Also their morning ritual was very bad. Chanting and singing in that motivational manner was a method the Nazis did. So for a German it's very offensive.
And their "we have everything" approach broke some competition law. Plus their refusal of unions made some bad press.
Aldi gave up in Denmark. A expensive Norwegian company took over all the shop. It was a bloodbath.
The one compromise that Aldi makes in the US is that the cashier puts the items in your cart. In Germany the customer is responsible for grabbing the items as quickly as the cashier can scan them. And if you're under 80 years of age, you better keep up with the cashier, or the other customers will get pissed at you. 🙂
And the cashier. And the people watching from outside.
@@Llortnerof ... and everyone in the queue behind you ofc and their babies
Us people are to slow or to lazy, sow they carts wil be packed, so they can move out quickly.
My aunt was a branch manager of an Aldi in Germany for most of her life. When I was a kid, cashiers didn't even have item scanners, because Aldi refused to buy and maintain these costly machines. Instead, every item was categorized into a prize like 0.49€, 0.99€, 1.99€, and so on. The cashiers MEMORIZED these and typed everything into the register. They got crazy quick at it too, so the barcode scanners weren't a huge improvement timewise.
You seem to be too young to get your memories right. Aldi did not "refuse" anything, but barcode scanning and the implementation and rollout of EAN barcodes started in the early 1980ies.
The Aldi cashiers during the 70ies and 80ies would NOT type in prices, but the internal article no., usually three digits long, of every item. They were able to do this so quickly and precisely that scanner checkouts no longer had any advantage in terms of speed. It was only with the introduction of fully automated stock management systems (SCM) that they became indispensable at Aldi.
@@gerohubner5101 It was definitely not the 70s or 80s, since I was born in the 80s and my aunt was still doing it well into my teens, so late 90s. Sure, it might have been the article number, not the price, but that changes very little in terms of effort. And yes, Aldi very much REFUSED to do it because of the investment needed. I remember, that my aunt talked about it as a huge internal discussing, before it got rolled out. She was a branch manager after all (Filialleiterin).
Agree, those scanners made ALDI slower and I still remember how they did it: put their arm somewhere between the items and than they hammered into the register in lightning speed and when everything up to their arm was tipped in, one swoop to shove everything in the cart.
And Aldi started to use Barcode scanners in the late 90s. And to still be fast, They put the Barcodes on several sides on the packaging so the cashiers can swipe the items in nearly every position.
Until late 90´s ALDI also refuses to have phones in there stores.
In these days most products where presented on a Euro-Palet. Only Spices and such small items put on shelfs.
As a German this is standard in our country for discounter shops
Deutsche Effizienz in Aktion 🇩🇪
😂 I can read German
When I was a kid in the late 80s there was a stigma with Aldi due to the poor quality of their offerings. Yes, they were cheaper but you got what you paid for. Aldi of today however is an entirely different story! Their selection and quality is amazing on the private brands they offer at a fraction of the cost of the big stores. I'm a beliver.
It does seem like they have improved their quality a lot over time! I'm a big fan as well.
Aldi started changing during the 90s. Since the beginning of the zero years the quality of the fresh food and of the non-food is very good an the prices are reasonable. I still have duvet covers I bought 2002 - they are very good and they still look good. They were really worth their money.
I don‘t think that‘s true. Aldi in Germany was always known for it‘s high quality products. What has changed significantly is the variety. Aldi used to just have one of each- which I actually preferred- it added to the savings, as you weren’t tempted as much, and you could be sure the things that are there are of a good quality and fresh. I just HATE having to search through 50 types of joghurt.
Thing is that while Aldi's quality has somewhat improved, they're no longer cheaper than the other retailer's store brands (at least not on average).
Aldi Süd was always very ok. I think it was Aldi Nord that sometimes had low quality.
Tucker Carlson never seen an Aldi shopping car until he went to Russia😂😂😂
THEY ARE LIKE 3rd WORLD SHOPPING!
Not really! In Europe this is normal!😅
trucker is just a rus shill
I drive 20 miles through LA traffic to get to the nearest Aldi. I save so much it's worth the drive. Kroger/Ralph's and Albertsons/Vons are all ridiculously expensive to shop at.
My small town of 20k people have two Aldis not 2 km apart ;)
Ralph‘s was already steeply priced 20 years ago.
Give it some more time, and that distance will drop. One of the major advantages of the higher efficiency is that even fairly small shops with an equivally small customer base can still operate profitably.
For example in Germany you've got 20k discount markets, basically one for every 4k inhabitants. Only 20% of those are ALDI mind you, as we do have other discount chains over here. LA's 4 million inhabitants could easily house 1k such shops, basically 2 per square mile.
I walk three minutes to the nearest Aldi in my walkable, public transport heavy german city..
I also have two more upscale supermarkets within walking distance.
I should check on my car one of these days. Haven't used it in weeks... 😅
The real savings at these discounter stores is buying ingredients, rather than ready made, highly processed stuff
Next step: A plastic/glass bottle deposit scheme like in Germany. We pay 25 cents per bottle when we buy, and when we return the bottle, we get those 25 cents back. It has cut back a huge amount of what otherwise would have gone to trash or just discarded in nature.
Hm in the US it woudt bind the poeple ifen more to the Shop but it is a German law so no hope for cleanen City in the US.
@@uwehansen2915in Denmark you can buy in any store and get your deposit back in any other shop, so the system doesn't tie you to a certain store. 8:28
As it works in whole Europe for many decades.
@@gaborbakos7058Not the whole of Europe. Only 13 countries have this schem and all, but one, joind in 2007 when it was introduced, Lithuania joined in 2016.
Here, in Spain, we do not have it but More than 80% recycle which includes throw buttles into recycle bins. We do not have "trash pick up days" ( \at least not in cities) as we have big bins for all major types on the streets within a short walking distance, andose are emptied on a regular bases. For more specific thing we have the green collection points that will take most other things (for things like old furniture we need to take them doen in the evening on a specific date for collection).
We do pay a collection tax but you can get a discount for bringing things to the recycle centers.
@@uwehansen2915 The good thing about the system is that bottles and cans with 25 cent deposit can be returned at any store. So if you buy a bottle at Lidl, you can return it at Aldi and the other way round. If every store had their own system, that would be horrible. How would I know where I bought what bottle at.
2:32 This is so normal in Europe
I thought it was normal everywhere 😂😂
Love my local Aldi. Especially the European products that I find and get to try. Aldi doesn't have everything, my local Fareway has far better meat at the counter, but Aldi is where to go to get the essentials.
the shopping cart thing is actually something every german super market does
quite a lot stopped it during covid though but due to the whole „bring the shopping cart back“ being so ingrained in our minds (it’s just something you obviously do) there wasn’t really a problem even without the monetary incentive
in general most of this stuff is just german efficiency at work haha
i work in a grocery story in germany myself and it’s honestly a pretty chill job but they are very focused on efficiency and speed
I can still remember a time when German stores didn't have the coin system on their carts. Not sure who started it or when exactly, but it must have been late 80ies to early 90ies.
It should also be noted that in Germany, Aldi has contracts with producers and manufacturers to rebrand their wares to Aldi brands. Exactly the same product, only without the name brand recognition. If you look closely, you'll see that some of the store brands might look very similar to well-known brands -- similar color schemes and/or fonts, a slightly altered name ... and the ingredient list will be identical to the name band. Aldi still buys in bulk, the manufacturer still sells their product, but the whole advertising machinery and cost is taken out of the equation and leads to cheaper prices. An easy trick that serves both the company and the customer.
Also, at least Aldi Nord often is situated right next to a regular grocery chain franchise, like Rewe. Anything Aldi doesn't carry, the customer can get next door just by crossing the parking lot (or worst case, across the street). In fact, my closest Aldi store not only is less than 100 yards from Rewe -- too close to even move the car -- but also has a drugstore discounter literally right next to it. All three stores are thriving, despite some overlap, and can even afford to distribute weekly flyers to the households in the area, so that you don't even have to check online for special offers. This, in fact, builds customer loyalty -- while the chains have regular weekly sales on a number of items in all the stores in a city, some special offers might be store-specific, which is noted in the flyer.
In Germany, the major grocery chains sell similar goods to those in ALDI's core segment at the same price. They hardly make a profit, but the customer then buys other goods that are not available in the small ALDI. Which in turn meant that ALDI stores had to become larger in order to offer more selection.
I appreciate the relaxed sales atmosphere in US supermarkets. So here are some tips for US Americans who want to visit an Aldi in Germany and might experience culture shock:
1. Wear safety shoes and protective vests when entering. The shelves are filled by exchanging pallets using hand trucks. They will be run over and left lying around without consideration. It is good that you will get the medical care you need even without health insurance.
2. Never leave your shopping cart in the middle of the aisle. The shopping carts have special tires for driving fast and are designed in such a way that the German customer can flee the supermarket in five minutes. A late consequence of the many currency reforms and inflation where money could lose its value on the way to the checkout. Or just a strange rule that every German follows. Germans love rules.
3. Never ask a salesperson where you can find a product. She doesn't know. Either you know it yourself or you look for it yourself. In case of doubt, this is proof that you don't need the product and that you can do without it. This also puts the 5-minute rule in jeopardy.
4. When you approach the checkout with your purchases, watch the traffic jam at the 2 checkouts out of 6 that are open. At regular intervals, another checkout is opened while another checkout is closed when the cashier no longer feels like it. This is your chance to meet the 5-minute rule. As soon as the light of a checkout appears, storm the newly opened checkout with your cart. It is perfectly normal to push 2 or 3 competitors into the pile of cans. Always remember - shopping time is wasted life time.
5. Never pay with exact change at the checkout and announce it happily. The people in the queue at the checkout will immediately despise you (see 5-minute rule). Keep your credit card ready to hand like Americans keep their guns. The faster you leave, the more your visit will be appreciated.
6. When you put your goods in the cart yourself at the checkout, you need to have a strategy in place. The heavy goods at the bottom, the light goods at the top. The entire purchase must be perfectly sorted in the shopping cart in under 15 seconds. If you don't manage this, you will be rewarded with ridicule and scorn from the queue behind you. Maybe even worse. Make sure you follow these rules during your shopping experience.
ldi has the highest quality standards and the best trained employees. The own brands usually taste better than the branded products.
In some cases they are brand products, just labelled differently for Aldi.
@@Arsenic71 Most private brands are produced by well known brands. You can google lists of who produces what for ALDI.
I dont think there are many facillitys in the US that can produce a copy of "Cheerios". Remember ALDI needs huge quantities and reliable quallity. So they have to go to "Cheerios" and barter.
Aldi and lidl here in Ireland..
They are both very popular..
I shop there too..stuff just cheaper there and quality good..
I would recommend them, and there packed stores speak for themselves 🧐🇮🇪
We've had Aldi South at various locations in Wisconsin for a long time (maybe because many of us have last names like I do).
They are building a new one in my town, New London, which is nice because it's right on my way home from work, and we needed another grocery store.
In the Netherlands they have recently removed the coin system on the shopping karts because almost everyone returns their kart.
I don’t see anybody in Europe leaveinhthe cart in the middle of the parking lot. Some basic education is obviously required on the other side of the Atlantic
While the US is still at ALDI lvl.1: Having to bag their items themselves, our ALDI store recently got renovated and now lets cashiers manage two customers at the same time: There are two separate 'end zones' where the scanned items go into, each one with their own Card Reader and receipt printer.
Once your end zone is filled with items and you tell the cashier that you don't want to pay in cash, they are no longer required to help you and immediately start fireing scanned items into the second end Zone. It's amazing.
Also from an IT standpoint: the cash registers must be able to handle multiple customers at once and flawlessly switch between them.
Add-on - ours now have this, and additionally also self-service tills managed by the same assistant who's doing the "dual-lane" checkout. So essentially 6 check outs from 1 person.
Aldi and Lidl here in the UK are booming. They are constantly opening new stores.
This is fascinating to watch from a Dutch perspective.
Here in my Netherlands the dust of this Aldi revolution has settled many years ago and large legacy supermarket chains have learned their lesson. Most are now at the same price levels as Aldi (or lower) while stocking more items and providing more service.
Consequently the market share of Aldi has shrunk significantly in the Netherlands. Aldi Netherlands recently made a public promise to return to their basics of no frills and unbeatable low prices. So far I haven't seen any proof of that.
German here: I think pride in the beauty and efficiency of Aldi might be one thing that all Germans can get behind
Fan fact about the cashier system.
Aldi introduced bar code scanner registers maybe 20 years ago here in Germany.
Before this the cashier had to enter a code into the register, and they knew the most common items by heart.
They were faster than tzhe supermarkets where they scanned the barcodes.
Not having much different items helps with that too. .
true
I remember that.
Same in UK too. I remember it well in the late 90s
They were not only faster than their competition with scanners ... they were also faster than you, the customer, putting your stuff into bags or back into the cart! You needed a friend/spouse helping you to make this a fair fight :) And you'd think they would do a lot of mistakes but, alas, they made so few that checking was a waste of time
All these Aldi improvements are just... normal in EU
Ah, finally the US gets a chance to experience the superior shopping experience. In Romania, we absolutely love German stores. We don't have Aldi, but Lidl is extremely popular, followed by Kaufland, Auchan, and Carrefour (though I think Carrefour is French).
Aldi is great! 60% savings! Smart marketing!
Not in Finland, it is not reasonable market for them to come, as even Lidl can't compete with prices
Lidl is quite big in Finland. When I used to live there I went to Lidl once a month and bought all the basic stuff from there for the whole month and took a taxi back home. Lots of stuff.
@@verttikoo2052 now it's tie with S-group and K-group
I recently saw food prices in a store around San Diego and it was immediately clear to me that Aldi would just destroy the competition if they opened it their vicinity.
As an American, I love Aldi. I can buy prosciutto and cheese brats at the same store. Walmart can kiss my middle-class ass.
Welcome to German efficiency 😊
We live in that world for decades now.
And the cheap prices too.
Maybe they should start selling houses 😅
Not just German it's the European model (with more or less emphasis on their private label) everyone uses it from Carrefour, to Mercadona, etc.
@@Elkarus yeah but theyre all the sheeps that followed aldi in order to survive
Wait till you hear about Lidl 😅 a much better discounter in my opinion. In France, Lidl is booming while Aldi is really struggling but every market is different. Good job Aldi for changing the grocery store landscape in the US
This is amusing to see just how inefficient US stores are runned compared to the EU standard. The only thing Germany does diffrently then here in Sweden - and worse I might add - is that you don’t have space to pack your groceries directly at the cashier. Our checkouts are bigger and sectioned at the end so two customers can bag their stuff at the same time.
They introduced that system recently to Aldi stores in Germany. I guess they couldn't do it earlier because a lot of people still pai(d) with cash and then the system doesn't work. It only works well when every section at the end has their own card terminal and everybody pays with their card or phone.
You guys still have cashiers?! Self-checkouts are everywhere now..
I think it's a bit rude to leave the shopping kart in the parking lot.
In Europe we bag the items ourselves, right after the cashier scans them, no need to put them in the cart and bag them afterwards
A funny thing about the coin system is, that basically every supermarket in Germany (and in Europe in general as far as I know) has been doing that for many, many years. A few years back, the biggest supermarket in my area stopped doing that again and it works just fine, because now, all customers bring back their carts anyways.
Just one tiny bit of info about Aldi‘s beginning in Germany: competitors tried to bad mouth Aldi‘s product quality, but Aldi focused on a two-fold strategy even more strictly: to offer the cheapest product of at least the same or better quality than other Supermarkets. And they succeeded. For years they offered the best quality to price ratio. The competition between Discounters and Supermarkets in Germany is fierce (as Walmart can vouch for). Both Aldi companies and Lidl are the three at the top. (At least in Germany) no one comes close in price / quality ratio!
And even Rewe, which isn't a discounter is more efficient as a Walmart. They do have more products, but a lot of products are still in the delivered packaging and you have a lot of self checkouts. Of course they do not do things like bringing shopping cards back. The only other costly thing besides more products is probably that you can buy vegetables and fruits in very small samples and they weigh them for you so you do not have to use different bags and weigh them yourself
As a German I’m proud to see how German efficiency seems to be appreciated in other countries as well.
As a german thats one of the most American Videos i have ever seen
Before seeing these "Why Aldi/Lidl succeeds in insert_country" videos I never even noticed that there was no music in the stores (I am German). The boxes that the products are stacked in also did not seem cheap to me. As they have their brand design on them and many German shoppers use them to stack their shopped items (instead of using a cart) it never occurred to me that they should not be there. I also appreciate the quick shopping I do there. Every time I go to a big store to get a few special items the discounter do not have I know why I love the small stores. The big isles with 1000 versions of basically the same thing really just steal your time. You just don't select a different brand or flavor of something each time you do your weekly groceries. You get the same brands/items, maybe some snack item catches your attention. But otherwise, it's a chore. Why would a chore need to be exciting rather than quick and efficient?
Buy Düff!
What you also might like to check in on is how efficient German health care works and how it keeps its costs low.
Low price, good quality! German efficiency delivered to our allies, the people of the United States! 🇩🇪🤗🇺🇸
Ahhh the cringe.. Sorry but you're brainwashed, my fellow german
What do you mean. I thik he or she just wanted to be nice.@@user-ve7hn2dh8h
ALDI didn't last in Denmark..
@@fastertove That was ALDI north. ALDI south is better i think and its the one in the US.
@@Pyriold Okay, I see. Which one does "ALDI" refer to normally?
Aldi does not usually produce its own goods. The products under its own brand are produced by the major brands and then simply put in different packaging.😉
That is not true. Many major brand companies do not product private label. And if they to, they will make sure they use a different recipe for their own premium brand vs. the private labels or Aldi. Most Aldi products are manufactured by smaller companies that are dedicated to producing private labels.
At least in Germany it is true that Aldi simply has repackaged brand name products. It's even recognizable when you check out the original producer's address, and cross index it with the private label. It may be a different name for the company but it's often still the same zip code. Large name brand companies create tiny subsidiaries who do nothing but packaging the products.
That is not the case for all Aldi or discount products, but for a surprisingly large number.
In the meantime Aldi has advanced so far that companies aren't reluctant about selling their products there for fear of being associated with cheap or worthless products.
@@Hupjeflupje I agree that the recipies may be slightly different from the branded products, but the private label products come out of the same production line.
@@Hupjeflupje Many, many years ago, I had a girlfriend who worked at one of the then major ready-made meal producers, called Erasco. She was working at the production line and told me that, when filling up tins with soup or similar, they stopped after a certain amount of branded tins were filled and then changed the machine to add an Aldi label. The tin was filled with exactly the same soup as the Erasco-branded one. However, she said with certain products that required expensive meat, they changed the recipe slightly by adding a little bit less meat to the Aldi tins than to the Erasco-branded ones.
@@ewok4576 So they do change the recipe when switching to Aldi/Private Label.
It's very common in Germany's ALDI, that the private labelled goods are just rebadged well-known brands. Same stuff, different package. That allowed the brands to ramp up production, increasing efficiency and thus allowing them to increase their margins on their brands, while ALDI got access to what they want to sell at a bargain price.
The biggest selling point to me is the no-frills experience. They want to get you in and out fast, so you don't block their small aisles. No "shopping worlds", no "customer experiences" and all that jazz, just get your stuff and go. Just the way I like it - and apparently a lot of other people too.
Finally, their own brands that they getting produced for themselves usually fare quite well on comparisons. Ususally the quality is in the top third or better in comparisons, with typically only special brands at significantly higher prices are better.
Quality products, small focused store, reasonable prices, bring your own bags or boxes.
Aldi is pretty good here downunder. Not surprised the format does well in most markets. The one in my town has self checkouts now. Making it even more efficient and convenient.
In germany I pay 40% less at Aldi, compared to other competitors. I love it!
No you don’t. In Germany the grocery stores all have the same prices. Differences just occur because of some weekly discounts. But even then Aldi don’t have more or better discounts then the competition
I do! Same products more volume and also cheaper prices.
And I‘m definitely not talking about discounts.
How do you come to your conclusion?
@@ItsJockl All basic products from Aldi, Lidl, ja, and Gut&Günstig have the exact same prices. (I’ve made this experience and various product comparison videos show the same) Apart from that prices might differ if one or another store has an in-house brand or not.
For fruits and vegetables the discounters are cheaper, but do not differ from one another very much, at least when I compare the prices.
As a result, depending on your consumer behavior, there is not much space for price differences. So even when you come out a bit cheaper with Aldi, because of your product choices, there is no way to save 40%. It is impossible. The food prices in Germany are low overall, so there is no way you could save that much. In particular not if you compare Aldi with other discounters.
40%? Compared to what? Certainly not Lidl, Penny or Rewe, not even Edeka. You'd have to pick very specific items and compare the knock-off brands to the originals in order to get 40%. But if you do a regular shopping tour for the most common items and pick well known brands from both or store-brands from both you'd get way smaller margins.
Aldi pulled out of Denmark 30th November this year.
The competition here was too great for them.
I switched to Aldi almost a year ago and I'm happy paying 40% less compared to my previous grocery store chain. In the meantime Aldi opened a second store in our area.
Here in Germany, Aldi employees are paid surprisingly well.
In Australia you have to put in either a $1 or $2 coin. You certainly return the trolly! In the small regional city of around 35,000 people where I live we have two Aldi stores, so you can see how popular they are here as well. I prefer to go to one that is a bit further away because they have a self checkout line which is great to use because it does not do that frustrating weighing of items you check out to prevent theft. Makes shopping very quick, especially if you are only going to grab just a few items.
Their own label foods are also high quality. And the smaller footprint shops are better for older people and the disabled. No hiking round aisles of stuff I don't need. UK stopper
I use Lidl and Aldi here in the uk. They are inexpensive and efficient. Also most of their products are very good quality. They definitely do not carry everything you need so you will use the larger competitors to supplement your shopping.
We have one near us and it’s great.
The best part is the coin for the shopping cart. For us German ist totally normal. But there is one other important fact:
In Germany the Aldi Cashier calculate the change by themselves and not the cashier system. How is it in the US? In Germany it's only at Aldi.
It's crazy how optimized Aldi is.
I love Aldi. They have really good products
I would look forward to a ALDI in my Home Town! You get more for your money in a ALDI Store.
as an german aldi lover it is just everyday and normal how we get our groceries.
The coin/trolly setup was tried in Noresund too. It failed since we do not use cash.
Today I shopped at Lidl (same style, different owner).
I checked tooth floss (Zahnseide) . They offer 1 brand with
these variations: normal, mint taste , waxed.
And that's it. Quick shopping, keeping shop costs low.
I bought their celery and it came with smashed flies extra. How cool is that!
You prefer live ones?
Most grocery stores in Sweden have scrapped the shopping cart "quarter-system". Customers have learned to return the cart anyway.
Aldi ist Leben ❤
Interesting/informative/entertaining 😉. Entered once looked around then left empty handed😲. Melbourne Florida 🐊 ( HWY 192) Prices about the same as competition. No ( Buy on get One ) Very long waiting times/long lines due to one cashier😕. Will continue with( Publix )
We need it in Canada
I am sure, Aldi or Lidl will enter Canada soon if they did not do yet. They can not grow in Germany any more and also not in most other countries in europe because they already filled the space, so they have to go oversees. They e´ven start in China now
No one, I repeat, NO ONE will ever be as good as MERCADONA FROM SPAINNNNNN
In Germany a Aldi cashier scans the items quicker than me and my wife can pack into bags. It‘s amazingly quick
Excellent video, thanks for the info. Aldi had me at taking care of their employees when I saw their cashiers could sit down. That was it. It's efficient, no biggie, simple, they can scan my stuff, and we move on. No need for them to stand up, and do too much. There seem to be a war in the retail industry and in work places in general, between seeing how much rules and etiquettes we need to have to "wow" our customers, and keeping it to the bare essentials to just get the job done. I personally subscribe more to the later. As a worker so that I can actually focus on the job itself, and as a customer because I know the employees aren't selling themselves away to get me to spend my money
Here in their home market Germany they have large 3 digit numbers on heavy items like bottled drinks or cat litter for example. Customers are asked to leave them in the cart so the cashier doesn't have to lift them. Do they do that in the US, too?
@@BigWhoopZH It depends. From my experience, most of the time yes they lift them. Other times, some stores have hand scanners, so that the cashiers hold them and come around to scan the barcode of the item on the cart. And in few other cases, they have stickers with the barcode of large items on hand so that they can scan it without having to carry them
@@thegamegabonthanks for the reply, it's always interesting to see how they do things in other countries.
@@BigWhoopZH for sure. I do the same! Glad I could help
Just came back from Germany, they allow market cashiers to sit down which is nice.
No self check out yet that I see in US.
In Germany, nearly all Supermarkets operate like this.
America discovers what's been our European reality for 40 years thanks to Aldi among others. Saves money!
I don't know the quality of US Products but aldi products are good
COME TO CANADA PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm tired of being gouged by our grocery chains !
2:30 bro, in Europe that's the rule for every shopping store.
If you don't have a quarter in your pocket the personnel will gladilly provide you with a plastic replica, but even then every costumer will return and relock the shopping cart... It's just common sense there
The costumers will often keep the replica for future shoppings, but that piece of plastic is worth less than a penny so the store won't feel it...
When brands doesnt matter, aldi is best. Cheap but good products.
They still do have lots of well known brands, just not for every product
Thanks for taking the time. I think I have to correct my statement.
With competitors I meant Super Markets, in my area like Edeka or Rewe.
The 40% aren‘t calculated, but my honest perception.
I see the biggest differences in meat and vegetable prices.
In my preception Lidl an Aldi share quiet comparable prices.
Maybe we find common ground on those statements.
In Germany, Aldi is also known for its brutal procurement practices. Leveraging their market strength is one thing, but they are infamous for their ruthlessness.
In germany we have the two way cashier checkout. So the cashier can checkout 2 people, cause a "long" part of the waiting-time is the paying-process via card, and the packing up the items.
Also ALDI, LIDL etc. had to change a bit to more "luxury" by adding some popular brands(Coca-Cola), cause there were some years, when the normal supermarkets/luxury was in trend
Aldi and also Lidl have the middle aisle products which are well priced, good quality consumer products such as clothing, homeware, diy products, toys and electronic goods which buyers like to see and purchase.
In Germany anlot of other supermarkets can beat Aldi‘s prices! We have for example Lidl, Netto and Penny, that are also discounters with the same low-price range. All the other supermarkets have a range with no-name products that are as cheap as the equivalent at the discounters.
@@Nuevala Right, but when you look at the quality or quality / price ratio Aldi (and Lidl are best IMHO. Netto, Penny and Norma might have comparable prices, but (at least with some items) quality sucks, is lower. The Supermarkets (Rewe, Edeka) might have comparable quality and prices, but a much smaller range of low cost products. Their regular products are much more expensive. I have shoppen at all of the above, even both Aldis (the demarcation line is just through the city next door. For me, my personal Rating is: Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Lidl, Rewe, Edeka, Kaufland, Netto, Norma, Penny (though I only use the first 6 semi- regularly). Rewe / Edeka rating depends a lot on the local store, they differ. Of course it depends on your own personal choice of items, but over all Aldi and Lidl really try hard to deliver good products for a low price, and they mostly succeed. But it is a fierce battle, fought again every new week.
I haven't watched the video, but let me guess: Walmart cannot compete because their share holders expect an unhealthy annual growth in combination with high margins, while ALDI simply needs to cover their costs.
Be aware. The same products sold in different supermarket chains may have different nutrition values! For example, in Australia, if you compare same brand A2 milk sold in Aldi and local market chain Woolworth. The A2 from Aldi is cheaper but with less nutrient. I never shopped in Aldi after i compared them.
You can't tell me "profit margins are razor thin" when walmart is out there charging up to $11 for a pack os sugar
As a european I was shocked and laughing that the shopping cart system was a mew concept to Americans. this can't be real. They would rather hire an entire human for this 😂
Holy shiz, the things we look at and do in Europe for the last 5 decades are "revolutionary" in America
"No name goods" at Aldi and Co., or so-called own brands, often come from well-known manufacturers.
In fact, there are even books with the actual well-known manufacturers behind the "no name products". (I don't know if these books are available for countries other than Germany.)
The product under the name "Aldi own brand" can be much cheaper than the identical product under the actual company name.
The US will learn how good Aldi and the other German store Lidl is. They’ve essentially taken over the UK market from the likes of Tesco and Asda (the latter recently owned by Walmart). Quality and low prices but fewer choices.
When I shop at Aldi in Germany, I always look forward to competing with the cashier.
Who is faster - the cashier at scanning or me at putting the items in the shopping cart.
I usually win .....but not always LOL
Maybe? They're just the only ones who aren't insanely price gouging us.
what I don't like at Aldi's is that you are forced (even during covid) to take someone else's shopping cart at checkout.
So, you spend a lot of time cleaning the cart you use at entry to avoid even getting a cold or flu during the colder season just to take someone else's cart back to the car to put your groceries away.
I am happy that there is a Lidl close by as well.
it‘s really interesting to see, how literally every single thing mentioned here is just the norm in Germany
The locked shopping carts are universal in Germany, just about every super market in Germany has them.
And Denmark as well
There are also supermarkets in Germany without locked shopping carts. Mostly people do understand (and maybe are trained - lol) to bringing the cart back. But the majority uses coins.
It's so funny to see how all these things are mindblowing for Americans while we have been having this concept vor literally half a century.