Lidl and Aldi are two German discount supermarket chains that have been expanding rapidly in recent years, shaking up the UK grocery market. Both chains are owned by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht, who are estimated to be worth $33.5 billion each.
Lidl was founded in 1930 by Karl Albrecht, and Aldi (short for Albrecht Discount) was founded in 1946 by his brother Theo. The brothers inherited their mother’s small grocery store in Essen, Germany, which they expanded into a successful chain of stores.
While Lidl and Aldi share the same roots, there are some key differences between the two chains. Lidl has a more extensive range of products than Aldi, including many non-food items such as clothes and homeware. Aldi, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on food and drink items.
Both Lidl and Aldi follow a similar business model of offering low prices on a limited range of products. They source many of their products directly from manufacturers, cutting out the middleman and passing the savings on to customers. This no-frills approach means that both chains have a reputation for being quite basic, with few frills or extras.
Lidl and Aldi have both been hugely successful in recent years, with each chain opening hundreds of new stores across Europe and the US. In the UK, Lidl is now the fifth-largest supermarket chain, while Aldi is the seventh-largest. The success of both chains has been a major disruptor to the traditional supermarket duopoly of Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
So, are Lidl and Aldi brothers? Yes, they are!
Karl and Theo Albrecht were born into a family of grocers in Essen, Germany, and went on to build hugely successful discount supermarket chains. While there are some key differences between Lidl and Aldi, they both follow a similar business model of offering low prices on a limited range of products.
