They have been here in the US for a long time, I think their first american store opened in the 70s. Personally I love Aldi I shop at my local one here in Missouri at least once a week. Their price on extra firm tofu just can’t be beat its at least 1/3 the price it is at my other local supermarkets.
We have both Aldi here but they’re differently named. One is just Aldi, the other is Trader Joe’s.
It’s our super low cost grocer, that has in recent years become more high quality. When I was a kid (80s-90s) it was like “never buy fresh anything there because it’s all crap” but these days it’s all pretty decent quality stuff. Not like farmstand good, but better than Walmart.
Yeah, they’ve been in Texas at least 20 years. Looks like they are in most of the states in the eastern half of the continental US and the states along the southern border.
That’s because ALDI doesn’t cushion cost increases or sell loss leaders. If eggs shoot up in price 400% they immediately raise the price to match most grocery stores will try to eat at least some of that cost for some time hoping it will go down before they have to raid either further. That kind of pricing model means they need much larger margins on all their other products to afford that. Same way they sell milk and rotisserie chickens at a loss to get people in the store.
ALDI does not play those games and keeps their margins more consistent but their prices are more susceptible to spikes in costs.
One opened in my city, only Aldi within 50 miles. It is always packed and both of the major regional grocers have raised their “now hiring” wages several dollars, run much more aggressive deals, and their parking lots are maybe 4/5ths as full as they were a month ago.
Which is great for me because I’ve been to several Aldis and realized it just isn’t for me. Being one guy with a pretty weak appetite, the actual dollar savings don’t really come out to much for me (maybe -$10 versus a major grocer if I’m really stocking up), and the “Aldi Experience” doesn’t really mesh with how I buy food. It’s still great to have them in the market, though.
They also tend to make them stand at the beginning of their lane when they don’t have customers. Apparently a light signaling that they are available just isn’t enough.
Edit: My bad. I’ve never seen this at Aldi or Lidl. Just other US chains like Food Lion.
Hereabouts*, the lanes each have a sign with their number. Glows red = closed, glows green = open. Super convenient, and I’ve seen it across multiple store chains, so it’s not like it’s only one store doing it.
*Southern Germany, observed across different cities, though I can’t vouch that it is universal
Only office workers and managers are allowed to sit. If you’re in a customer-facing position with a chair, you’re supposed to stand up when helping a customer.