10 Remarkable Differences Between ALDI and LIDL Latest Update
Difference Between ALDI and LIDL: ALDI and LIDL are arguably the biggest supermarket chains in the German grocery industry.
The popularity of these supermarket chains expands through all of Europe and to the rest of the world, making them one of the most prominent in the industry worldwide. However, these establishments are usually mistaken for each other.
About ALDI Supermarket Chain
Aldi (stylized as ALDI) is the common brand of two German family-owned discount supermarket chains with over 10,000 stores in 20 countries and an estimated combined turnover of more than €50 billion. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 when they took over their mother’s store in Essen.
The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, which later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in Mülheim.
In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont. In Germany, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966, although both divisions’ names may appear as if they were a single enterprise with certain store brands or when negotiating with contractor companies. The formal business name is Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Compagnie.
Aldi’s German operations consist of Aldi Nord’s 35 individual regional companies with about 2,500 stores in western, northern, and eastern Germany, and Aldi Süd’s 32 regional companies with 1,600 stores in western and southern Germany.
Internationally, Aldi Nord operates in Denmark, France, the Benelux countries, Portugal, Spain, and Poland, while Aldi Süd operates in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia, China, Italy, Austria, and Slovenia.
Both Aldi Nord (as Trader Joe’s) and Aldi Süd (as Aldi) also operate in the United States with 1,600 stores between them as of 2017. Further, the U.S. is the only country to have both Aldi companies operating outside of Germany.
About LIDL Supermarket Chain
Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG is a German international discount supermarket chain that operates over 12,000 stores across Europe and the United States.
Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, which also operates the hypermarket chain Kaufland.
Lidl is the chief competitor of a similar German discount chain Aldi in several markets. There are Lidl stores in almost every member state of the European Union. Lidl stores are also present in Switzerland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In 1932, Josef Schwarz became a partner in Südfrüchte Großhandlung Lidl & Co., a fruit wholesaler, and he developed the company into a general food wholesaler.
In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, the Schwarz-Gruppe began to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry wholesale markets.
He did not want to use the name Schwarz-Markt (Schwarzmarkt means “black market”) and rather use the name of Josef Schwarz’s former business partner, A. Lidl, but legal reasons prevented him from taking over the name for his discount stores.
When he discovered a newspaper article about the painter and retired schoolteacher Ludwig Lidl, he bought the rights to the name from him for 1,000 German marks.
Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, the fifth-largest retailer in the world with sales of €104.3 billion (2018).
The first Lidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi concept. Schwarz rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from the shelves, and cut costs by keeping the size of the retail outlets as small as possible. By 1977, the Lidl chain comprised 33 discount stores.
Lidl opened its first UK store in 1994. Since then, Lidl UK has grown consistently, and today has over 800 stores.
While it is still a small player in the United Kingdom, with a grocery market share of less than 5%, its importance, along with that of continental, no-frills competitor Aldi is growing, with half of the shoppers in the United Kingdom visiting Aldi or Lidl over Christmas 2014.
Difference Between ALDI and LIDL
ALDI is the abbreviation for Albrecht Discounts. It is not one company but two companies, owned by brothers. The two companies are ALDI Sud and ALDI Nord.
ALDI Sud mainly focuses its business in Austria and English speaking countries whereas ALDI Nord’s business is concentrated in Northern Germany and the rest of Europe.
ALDI, before it was split apart, was owned by Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht. The company was formed in 1913 after the mother of these two started a small store in Essen. The company was spilt in 1960 over a row if cigarettes should be sold at till or not. ALDI Nord has its headquarters in Essen and ALDI Sud in Mülheim an der Ruhr.
LIDL has its headquarters in Neckarsulm. The company was formed in 1930, much later than ALDI. Though the company has been traced to 1930, it was in 1977 that LIDL ventured into the supermarket business on the lines of ALDI concept.
Though ALDI and LIDL are unique for its private-labeled items, the former is known to have a greater advantage.
When comparing the two supermarkets, LIDL is considered to be more promotional. Unlike ALDI chain, LIDL uses EDLP for the promotion of non-foods.
When dealing with customer demands, LIDL is known to react faster to the demands of the customer. LIDL pursues the suppliers for the product that they want.
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CSN Team.
