Facts About Aldi

It was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 when they took over their mother's store in Essen, Germany which had been in operation since 1913. It is one of the world's largest privately owned companies. The name is a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont.

The German discount supermarket chain is the ninth largest retailer in the world, following Walmart, Tesco, Costco, Carrefour, Kroger, Lidl, Metro AG, and Home Depot. Target is number ten. Five of the top ten are American and three of the top ten are German owned.

• Nine of ten items Aldi sells are store brands,
• You must bring your own bags,
• You must pay 25 cent deposit for cart (you get it back when returned),
• Aldi accepts no coupons,
• Items at Aldi are, on average, 53% cheaper than at Walmart,
• Aldi owns Trader Joe's.