Aldi, Lidl and Co.: Why German discounters are so popular abroad

Created: 02/21/2022Updated: 02/21/2022 8:12 am

By: Daniel Hagen

Aldi and Lidl are among the largest discounters in the world.

But business is also going very well in other countries.

Why exactly is this:

When the brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht took over their mother's corner shop in Essen in 1945, the idea of ​​having created a gigantic discounter franchise was still a long way off.

Today, the name "Albrecht Diskont" - or Aldi* for short - is known and loved on several continents and numerous countries.

The rift between the two men in 1961 did not change that.

Aldi Süd alone is now on four continents and in eleven countries.

In total, there are over 6,500 branches around the world.

HEIDELBERG24* reveals why the discounter concept works so well.

The German discounter markets have developed into an export hit.

In addition to Aldi, Lidl and Penny can also look back on great success.

So there is Lidl in a total of 30 countries with over 11,500 branches.

The Penny market is also represented with over 1,500 branches in five European countries.

However, the Rewe Group has announced that it will invest five billion euros in the foreign presence of its own Penny chain over the next few years.

As Frank Küver, trade expert at the market research company NielsenIQ, explains to the German Press Agency, the discount model is the “greatest export success” of German trade.

Aldi, Lidl and Penny: the discounter model is extremely successful abroad

"The success of the German discounters abroad has meant that the announcement of market entry in a new country sometimes causes prices in the food trade there to slide - even before the first store is opened," explains the expert.

The clear leader here is Lidl, which generated more than three quarters of its sales of over 96 billion euros in 2020 abroad.

Strictly speaking, just 3,200 of the 11,550 branches are actually in Germany.

Aldi is also very popular in the UK and US.

© Elise Amendola/dpa

But Aldi Süd also gets a lot of sales from other countries such as the USA, Australia or China.

More than 4,700 of the 6,500 branches are outside of Germany.

In the US alone, the discounter has more stores than in its home country!

Aldi Nord now operates a further 5,200 branches between Denmark and Portugal.

In the tough competition on the German market, according to Küver, the low-cost providers have trimmed their business models for efficiency and then benefited from this in their foreign expansion.

Aldi, Lidl and Penny: That's how popular the discounters are in the USA and Great Britain

"The key to success of the discount model - cost efficiency and the limited range of goods - remains the same everywhere," says the retail expert.

However, the packaging can change depending on the country.

Sometimes the discounters appear more elegant than in Germany, sometimes more sparsely, sometimes there are more fresh products, sometimes a larger proportion of local brands.

Other dealers in foreign markets would find it difficult to find an answer to this recipe for success.

The big advantage of discounters abroad is one important reason: the price.

Aldi and Lidl are cheaper than their local competitors.

In Germany, however, a few prices are currently being raised*.

In addition, the chains go to great lengths to prove their connection to the respective country.

Lidl is a sponsor of the English national football team, while Aldi is a partner in the popular baking show "The Great British Bake Off".

Popularity is also growing in the US, with both chains being voted in the top 5 best supermarkets in the country by USA Today readers.

Recently, Aldi has even been very popular on TikTok after a man was locked in a branch there at night*.

In Australia, meanwhile, there is confusion about whether the unvaccinated will soon no longer be able to buy alcohol from Aldi.

(dpa/dh) HEIDELBERG24 is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.