Aldi and Trader Joes

[Bobber]

This article is a little old, but gives some good information on these two sister company's. Didn't realize Aldi's opened it's first store in the USA in South East Iowa and also didn't know on a World stage it rivals Wal Mart.

Aldi and Subsidiary Trader Joe̢۪s Revered By Customers, But at What Price?

http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Strategy/Aldi-Low-Cost%20Retail%20Giant%20Distinctive%20Business%20Practices%20Case%20Studies.htm

I buy a lot of food at Aldi. What I can't get there I find at Fareway or Target. Lot of bang for the buck and the quality is good.

Anybody else care to admit to doing the same thing?

 

[trueclone2]

I get most of my food from Aldi's.

I found out a few years back that the ketchup is from Heinz and the cereals come out of General Mills factories. I am confident that most of the rest of it is from similar situations, and you can kind of tell by the design of packaging how it is similar to its "name" brand.

The place has good German wine in it and some of the other non grocery products like DVD players and what not come from Germany as well.

Argue all a person wants but a head of lettuce is a head of lettuce anywhere and is always cheaper at Aldi's as is most things like eggs, bread etc. The milk still has to pass the same standards as any other milk. So yeah I guess after this rambling yeah I definitely admit it and support/promote them.

If you go to Germany Aldi's is the main grocery store chain.

 

[simply1]

I've been to trader joes a few times. I like them and Costco for deals combined with how they treat their employees.

 

[JP4CY]

We have always stopped at Trader Joe's when we were in a big town, been to the one in Des Moines once, very nice.
We are starting to go to Aldi's more, maybe 30-40% of our groceries. I think a lot of people feel weird going there, think its only for poor people, but its not. We buy a lot of the basics there: flour, eggs, granola bars, canned tomatoes.

 

[majorcyfan]

This article is a little old, but gives some good information on these two sister company's. Didn't realize Aldi's opened it's first store in the USA in South East Iowa and also didn't know on a World stage it rivals Wal Mart.

Aldi and Subsidiary Trader Joe̢۪s Revered By Customers, But at What Price?

Aldi: A Low-Cost Retail Giant's Distinctive Business Practices | Business Strategy Case Studies | Case Study in Business, Management

I buy a lot of food at Aldi. What I can't get there I find at Fareway or Target. Lot of bang for the buck and the quality is good.

Andybody else care to admit to doing the same thing?

ALDI'S started out buying the Benner Tea company and stores. The older Hyvee drug store in Ottumwa was first a Benner Tea grocery store.

 

[bugs4cy]

Thanks to some traumatic experience in my childhood (of which I can't even totally recall) I think of Aldi as The Dented Can Store. I have a deep and abiding respect for botulism, so I never go there.

 

[wxman1]

I have been going to Aldi for more and more of my groceries, I now buy almost everything there, always same price or cheaper. I can't tell any difference on the taste of anything but my girlfriend claims to be able to tell on some thing's. My only complaint is that I have never been to find 90/10 ground beef only 80/20.

The African American checkout lady at the Ames store though doesn't seem to be a very happy or friendly lady.

 

[Bobber]

Their fresh produce does not tend to be good. I get most of that at Fareway. Hyvee tends to be tops in that area, but you pay for it.

 

[Bobber]

We have always stopped at Trader Joe's when we were in a big town, been to the one in Des Moines once, very nice.
We are starting to go to Aldi's more, maybe 30-40% of our groceries. I think a lot of people feel weird going there, think its only for poor people, but its not. We buy a lot of the basics there: flour, eggs, granola bars, canned tomatoes.

I do see a lot of people in that category shopping there, but you'll also see folks who appear to be well off too.

The place offers a lot of value and people realize it.

 

[cycoOJfan89]

I have been going to Aldi for more and more of my groceries, I now buy almost everything there, always same price or cheaper. I can't tell any difference on the taste of anything but my girlfriend claims to be able to tell on some thing's. My only complaint is that I have never been to find 90/10 ground beef only 80/20.

The African American checkout lady at the Ames store though doesn't seem to be a very happy or friendly lady.

My brother is a District Manager for Aldi up in the twin cities. He says that the cashiers get paid a lot more hourly than any other retailer. Because of this, there are fewer employees, they demand that you do a damn good job, be very fast, and Aldi isn't as lax about breaks as other retailers. This is why they start at the $11-12 range vs the $8-9 range at most other retailers. This is also why the checkout lady probably isn't all that friendly.

The profit margin at Aldi's is considerably lower than other retailers as well so they are almost always understaffed.

 

[3TrueFans]

I like Aldi, we always go grocery shopping there first, get all the essentials and anything else they have. Still have to go to Wal-mart or somewhere for some special things, but going to Aldi cuts our grocery bill in half atleast.

There is a stigma attached to Aldi I think, that it's just for poor people or whatever, but if you can get over that you can save some serious cash.

 

[drmwevr08]

We would try Aldi if there was one close but at the moment we'd have to drive well past Fareway, Walmart, Target, No Frills and a little past HyVee to get to one. I seem to recall the food tasting noticably different though. I was young at the time so perhaps the difference wasnt bad, I dont really recall. My most significant experience with Aldi was in Germany. My buddy and I would go in there and buy jugs of apple juice to drink because they were large and cheap, whereas on the street everyone sold tiny portions of coke and such for twice as much. Being americans we couldn't subsist on only 8-10 ounces of liquid for lunch

I wish our Trader Joes was a bit closer. They have some great unique items that are worth a try once in a while. Their beer is pretty tasty too, although priced about the same as most others that I would tend to buy anyway.

 

[TRZA]

Aldi is like shopping in Europe, and I like that.

 

[CarolinaCy]

I found out a few years back that the ketchup is from Heinz and the cereals come out of General Mills factories. I am confident that most of the rest of it is from similar situations, and you can kind of tell by the design of packaging how it is similar to its "name" brand.

Pretty much all private label/store brand items are made by the "brand name" manufacturers (there might be an exception or 2, so I won't say all). Many times it's simply a packaging difference, but often times they are different formulations in order to sell the product at a cheaper price.

 

[MeanDean]

We shop 80% at Aldi. They used to be more "iffy" on their products but in the last 10-15 years I am convince their product quality is generally on par with any store brand. Produce can be hit or miss. If they have it and it's nice I'll buy it. If they don't I buy something else or get it elsewhere.

If I had one complaint it is that they seem to get a lot of one time promotional items that I end up trying and liking, they you can't get them anymore.

Try the little Turkey sausages (not in the refrigerated section). They're about 1/2 inch in diameter and about an inch long. They are AWESOME!

 

[rebecacy]

Trader Joe's is a supermarket chain specializing in organic, vegetarian, and alternative foods with hundreds of locations throughout the United States, centered in organic-happy Southern California. Shoppers appreciate its image of healthful food in a small-business family atmosphere. Really? In 2005 alone, Trader Joe's racked up sales estimated at $4.5 billion. The company is owned by a family trust set up by German billionaire Theo Albrecht, ranked the 22nd richest man in the world by Forbes in 2004. He's the co-founder and CEO of German multi-national ALDI, with global revenue in grocery sales at $37 billion. According to Business Week, the decade of the 1990's saw Trader Joe's increase its profits by 1000%. Trader Joe's also compensates its employees aggressively, with starting salaries for supervisors at $40,000. They hire only non-union workers. Now, to any capitalist or business-minded person, there's nothing wrong with any of that (unless you're pro-union or anti-big business). It's a great company, and very successful. Trader Joe's customers are willing to pay their premium prices to get that healthful image. But they should not kid themselves that they're striking a blow at big business and supporting the little guy. I'm not exactly sure why anticorporatism wound up on the organic food agenda, since it's so counterintuitive. The irony is that the organic food companies supply a smaller amount of food per acre planted, and enjoy dramatically higher profits, which is why anticorporatists hate corporations in the first place.

 

[JP4CY]

Trader Joe's customers are willing to pay their premium prices to get that healthful image.

I never thought Trader Joes has premium prices. I find them pretty competitive in a lot of items that might be at other grocery stores.

 

[capitalcityguy]

Trader Joe's is a supermarket chain specializing in organic, vegetarian, and alternative foods with hundreds of locations throughout the United States, centered in organic-happy Southern California. Shoppers appreciate its image of healthful food in a small-business family atmosphere. Really? In 2005 alone, Trader Joe's racked up sales estimated at $4.5 billion. The company is owned by a family trust set up by German billionaire Theo Albrecht, ranked the 22nd richest man in the world by Forbes in 2004. He's the co-founder and CEO of German multi-national ALDI, with global revenue in grocery sales at $37 billion. According to Business Week, the decade of the 1990's saw Trader Joe's increase its profits by 1000%. Trader Joe's also compensates its employees aggressively, with starting salaries for supervisors at $40,000. They hire only non-union workers. Now, to any capitalist or business-minded person, there's nothing wrong with any of that (unless you're pro-union or anti-big business). It's a great company, and very successful. Trader Joe's customers are willing to pay their premium prices to get that healthful image. But they should not kid themselves that they're striking a blow at big business and supporting the little guy. I'm not exactly sure why anticorporatism wound up on the organic food agenda, since it's so counterintuitive. The irony is that the organic food companies supply a smaller amount of food per acre planted, and enjoy dramatically higher profits, which is why anticorporatists hate corporations in the first place.

I assume you are meaning to provide a link or at least provide a source for this information? This doesn't appear to be original content.

 

[LindenCy]

I never thought Trader Joes has premium prices. I find them pretty competitive in a lot of items that might be at other grocery stores.

Yeah, honestly, their prices are cheaper than some "regular" grocery stores, and compared to Whole Foods, they are miles ahead price-wise.

 

[Bobber]

Recent article on these two that was in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

Slate: Trader Joe’s brother, Aldi, brings German grocery experience to U.S. | TheGazette

We shop at Aldi's all the time.