Aldi
 
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 23 June 1913 10 July 1946 (split in two parts in 1960, renamed to Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd in 1962) |
| Founders |
Karl Albrecht Theo Albrecht |
| Headquarters |
Essen, Germany (Aldi Nord) Mülheim, Germany (Aldi Süd) |
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Number of locations
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10,366 Aldi Nord, Aldi Süd, & Trader Joe's Stores |
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Area served
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Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States |
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Key people
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Lecia West |
| Products | Food; Beverage; Sanitary Articles; Household Goods |
| Revenue |
 €53 billion (2010) |
| Owner | Siepmann Foundation, (Aldi Süd) Markus Foundation, (Aldi Nord) |
| Subsidiaries | Trader Joe's (Aldi Nord) |
| Website | www |
Aldi (stylized as ALDI) is the common brand of two leading global discount supermarket chains with over 10,000 stores in 18 countries, and an estimated combined turnover of more than €50 billion. Based in Germany, the chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 when they took over their mother's store in Essen which had been in operation since 1913.
The brothers built up a chain of stores until, by 1960, they owned 300 shops, and split the operation into two separate groups, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen; and Aldi Süd, headquartered in nearby Mülheim. The two operate independently, each within distinct geographical areas. Both are among the world's largest privately owned companies.
In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont), which is pronounced [ˈaldiː]. 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, oHG.
The individual groups were originally owned and managed jointly by the brothers. Karl Albrecht (d. 2014) retained ownership of Aldi Süd, and with a personal wealth of €17.2 billion, making him the richest man in Germany, while the co-owners of Aldi Nord, Berthold and Theo Albrecht Jr., close behind at €16 billion. Dieter Schwarz, owner of Lidl and Kaufland came in third, with a fortune of €11.5 billion.
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.
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Wikipedia