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So, "Aldi" actually means lots of different things. Two German brothers (Karl and Theo Albrecht) formed ALDI in 1946. In the 60s, they split the company in two,

So, "Aldi" actually means lots of different things. Two German brothers (Karl and Theo Albrecht) formed ALDI in 1946. In the 60s, they split the company in two, resulting in Aldi Nord (Theo) and Aldi Süd (Karl). In the '90s, the brothers retired as CEOs and transferred ownership to family trusts. The companies operate in different geographical areas. Originally, the brothers split across the Rhine, but now Aldi Süd includes North America, Australia, and half of Europe. Aldi Nord operates in the other half of Europe. The same trust that owns Aldi Nord also owns Trader Joe's (acquired in 1979), and they use similar operational values: (minimal advertising, limited selection, private label goods, work ethic, etc) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

cs02rm0 7y ago
I'd associated that story with Aldi vs. Lidl. Seems the two are unrelated, other than Lidl being in the style of Aldi.
jaflo 7y ago
This is mentioned in the article along with the tidbit of "the brothers [splitting] the business in two, reportedly over a dispute over whether to sell cigarettes" and the "dividing line between the two in Germany known as the “Aldi Equator.”"
Someone 7y ago
”Two German brothers (Karl and Theo Albrecht) formed ALDI in 1946. In the 60s, they split the company in two” Brothers starting a company and splitting up later to produce two successful companies seems to be a German thing. The Dassler brothers did it too, forming Adidas and Puma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas#Split_and_rivalry_with_Puma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas#Split_and_rivalry_with_...) Back to Aldi: it always surprises me that the two Aldi’s don’t get accused of forming a cartel. It is fairly clear that they agreed to split the market. I guess that doesn’t get them into trouble because a) there are other large players and b) they can’t be accused of doing it to prevent a price war.
- detaro 7y ago
  AFAIK when it comes to (German) competition/cartel law, they're in some ways considered as if they were a single entity. There's a rule treating companies that openly strongly align like that as if they were commonly owned, so they can't pretend to compete with each other, presumably if one tried to buy an actual competitor the market position of both would be taken into account, ... So yes, it'd be trouble if they in sum started to dominate the market etc.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

cs02rm0 7y ago

I'd associated that story with Aldi vs. Lidl. Seems the two are unrelated, other than Lidl being in the style of Aldi.

jaflo 7y ago

This is mentioned in the article along with the tidbit of "the brothers [splitting] the business in two, reportedly over a dispute over whether to sell cigarettes" and the "dividing line between the two in Germany known as the “Aldi Equator.”"

Someone 7y ago

”Two German brothers (Karl and Theo Albrecht) formed ALDI in 1946. In the 60s, they split the company in two” Brothers starting a company and splitting up later to produce two successful companies seems to be a German thing. The Dassler brothers did it too, forming Adidas and Puma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas#Split_and_rivalry_with_Puma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas#Split_and_rivalry_with_...) Back to Aldi: it always surprises me that the two Aldi’s don’t get accused of forming a cartel. It is fairly clear that they agreed to split the market. I guess that doesn’t get them into trouble because a) there are other large players and b) they can’t be accused of doing it to prevent a price war.

detaro 7y ago
AFAIK when it comes to (German) competition/cartel law, they're in some ways considered as if they were a single entity. There's a rule treating companies that openly strongly align like that as if they were commonly owned, so they can't pretend to compete with each other, presumably if one tried to buy an actual competitor the market position of both would be taken into account, ... So yes, it'd be trouble if they in sum started to dominate the market etc.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]