aldi analysis
The international discount retailer industry is a high competitive market. More than ever, discount supermarkets need to offer customers value for money. ALDI – the budget food supermarket chain based in Germany understands that its customer wants to buy everyday groceries of the highest possible quality at guaranteed low price. (ALDI Australia, 2013)
As stated in its “Spend a little Live a lot” message, ALDI operate in a no-frills concept. And in company’s initial international expanding stage, it mainly focus on attract low-earning clienteles who think much of price and quality but don’t mind on fancy displays or glamorous shopping experience.
This customer target can be referred in ALDI’s choices of store location in early days. For instance, when ALDI entered the United States market in 1976, stores can be firstly found in the Northeastern and Central regions. Within these regions, the locations are mostly in rural areas or suburb areas of greater cities where the income levels are lower. And only a few stores located in high economically developed areas. (ALDI-Location, 2013)
On the other hand, ALDI’s customer target can also be reflected in its lean production theory. ALDI carried a limited range – just 1000 products compared with the over 20,000 in a typical supermarket, and the majority of them are basic daily using groceries. It does not provide something special or unique but only simple quality general goods. "We strip out any extra costs," explains Julie Cheston, a spokesperson for ALDI. "We only stock 1,000 lines and don 't duplicate any products, so we can buy large amounts which keeps costs down." (Cash in on the Aldi effect, 2013)
However, the situation slightly changed in recent years. The economic crisis in 2008 brought a lot of business changes especially in customer behavior within the supermarket around the world. The financial event has strongly motivated a certain amount of middle classes who want to purchase inexpensive products in
As stated in its “Spend a little Live a lot” message, ALDI operate in a no-frills concept. And in company’s initial international expanding stage, it mainly focus on attract low-earning clienteles who think much of price and quality but don’t mind on fancy displays or glamorous shopping experience.
This customer target can be referred in ALDI’s choices of store location in early days. For instance, when ALDI entered the United States market in 1976, stores can be firstly found in the Northeastern and Central regions. Within these regions, the locations are mostly in rural areas or suburb areas of greater cities where the income levels are lower. And only a few stores located in high economically developed areas. (ALDI-Location, 2013)
On the other hand, ALDI’s customer target can also be reflected in its lean production theory. ALDI carried a limited range – just 1000 products compared with the over 20,000 in a typical supermarket, and the majority of them are basic daily using groceries. It does not provide something special or unique but only simple quality general goods. "We strip out any extra costs," explains Julie Cheston, a spokesperson for ALDI. "We only stock 1,000 lines and don 't duplicate any products, so we can buy large amounts which keeps costs down." (Cash in on the Aldi effect, 2013)
However, the situation slightly changed in recent years. The economic crisis in 2008 brought a lot of business changes especially in customer behavior within the supermarket around the world. The financial event has strongly motivated a certain amount of middle classes who want to purchase inexpensive products in