Aldi (German pronunciation: [ˈaldiː] , stylised in all caps) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 13,600 stores in 18 countries. The business was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen.
The enterprise was split into two separate groups in 1960 that later became Aldi Nord (initially operating in northern West Germany), headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd (initially operating in southern West Germany), headquartered in neighbouring Mülheim. As the business expanded internationally, the two divisions maintained this separation, dividing global markets between them, with the exception of the United States, where both operate: Aldi Süd under the Aldi name, while Aldi Nord owns Trader Joe's.
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 they may appear to operate as a single enterprise with certain store brands or when negotiating with contractor companies.
Aldi is the main competitor of the German discount chain Lidl in most markets.
Aldi Nord is owned by three private family foundations (German: Stiftung): Markus-Stiftung, Jacobus-Stiftung, and Lukas-Stiftung, which together hold 100% of the company under a structure known as a Doppelstiftungsmodell (lit. 'dual-foundation ownership model'). These foundations are based in Nortorf, Schleswig-Holstein.
The foundations' assets include Aldi Nord's operations in Germany, organised into 23 regional companies, as well as international subsidiaries in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, and ownership of Trader Joe's in the United States. The group also owns its headquarters in Essen, office and warehouse facilities, and more than 5,300 store properties worldwide. The group has been described as having little or no debt.
Aldi Süd is owned by three private family foundations: the Siepmann-Stiftung (75%), and the Oertl-Stiftung and Elisen-Stiftung (together 25%), also structured under a Doppelstiftungsmodell. These foundations are based in Eichenau, Bavaria.
The foundations' assets include Aldi Süd's operations in Germany, organised into 24 regional companies, and international subsidiaries in Australia, Austria, China, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The group owns its headquarters in Mülheim, office and warehouse facilities, the Öschberghof hotel in Donaueschingen, and more than 5,000 store properties worldwide. The group has been described as having little or no debt.
In 1913, Karl and Theo Albrecht's mother opened a small store in a suburb of Essen, Germany. Their father was employed as a miner and, after asthma forced him to quit that job, later found work as a baker's assistant. Karl and Theo were born in 1920 and 1922, respectively. Theo Albrecht completed an apprenticeship in his mother's store, while Karl Albrecht worked in a delicatessen.
Karl Albrecht took over a food shop formerly run by F. W. Judt, and he later served in the German Army during World War II. In 1945, the brothers took over their mother's business and soon opened another retail outlet nearby. By 1950, the Albrecht brothers owned 13 stores in the Ruhr Valley.
The brothers' idea was to subtract the legal maximum rebate of 3% before sale. The market leaders at the time, which often were co-operatives, required their customers to collect rebate stamps and to send them at regular intervals to reclaim their money. The Albrecht brothers also rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from their shelves, cutting costs by neither advertising nor selling fresh produce, and keeping the size of their retail outlets small. By 1960, 300 stores were in Germany.
The brothers split the company in 1960, reportedly over a dispute about whether they should sell cigarettes. Karl believed they would attract shoplifters, while his brother, Theo, did not. This led to Theo running Aldi Nord and Karl running Aldi Süd. At the time, they jointly owned 300 shops. Journalist Martin Kuhna, however, questioned said reason for the split in an article published by the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung in September 2009, where he suspected that the real reason for the split lay in the vastly differing management styles of the brothers. In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi—short for Albrecht-Diskont, which translates into English as Albrecht Discount, which became their formal corporate name in 1975. Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966.
Aldi started to expand internationally in 1967, when Aldi Süd acquired the grocery chain Hofer in Austria. Aldi Nord opened its first stores abroad in the Netherlands in 1973, and other countries followed. In 1976, Aldi Süd opened its first store in the United States in Iowa, and, in 1979, Aldi Nord acquired Trader Joe's.
After German reunification and the fall of the Iron Curtain, Aldi experienced a rapid expansion. The brothers retired as CEOs in 1993. Control of the companies was placed in the hands of private family foundations, the Siepmann Foundation (Aldi Süd), and the Markus, Jakobus, and Lukas Foundation (Aldi Nord).
In August 2023, Aldi Süd agreed to acquire about 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket locations across the southeastern United States, completing the acquisition on 7 March 2024. In February 2025, Aldi sold 170 of the stores back to Southeastern Grocers in a deal involving its former leadership and C&S Wholesale Grocers. At the same time, Aldi said it would still convert around 220 Winn-Dixie and Harveys locations to its own format by 2027, operating them under existing brands under licence until conversion is complete.
The Aldi Nord group currently consists of 35 independent regional branches with around 2,500 stores. Aldi Süd is made up of 24 companies with around 2,000 stores. The border between their territories is commonly known as the Aldi-Äquator (lit. 'Aldi equator') and runs from the Rhine via Mülheim an der Ruhr, Wermelskirchen, Marburg, Siegen, and Gießen east to just north of Fulda.
The former East Germany is served by Aldi Nord, except for one Aldi Süd in Sonneberg, Thuringia, whose regional office is in Bavaria. The regional branches are organised as limited partnerships, with a regional manager for each branch, who reports directly to the head office in Essen (Aldi Nord) or Mülheim an der Ruhr (Aldi Süd).
The Aldi group operates over 12,000 stores worldwide. Aldi Nord is responsible for its stores in Northern Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Aldi Nord also owns the Trader Joe's grocery chain in the United States, which operates separately from the group. Aldi Süd's responsibilities are for Southern Germany, Australia, China, Ireland, the United Kingdom (not in Northern Ireland), the United States, and through Austrian subsidiary Hofer AG in Austria, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland.