Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well they aren't really for sale or rent either. Not sure what your point is?
I never, ever carry change.
Why not? Cash is divisible, readily accepted, and anonymous.
Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
321–330 of 653 posts
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#322I'm an industrial engineer and geek out about Aldi frequently. Here are a few things I've noticed (and researched) which differentiate them from others. -they have barcode on 5 or 6 sides of their products, and they're typically huge! They nearly never need to orient a product to scan it. Their scan speed is far faster than any other supermarket I've been at. -if two products are very similar, they'll change the pack…
> -they combine varieties (like flavors of granola bars) of product in the same box. This greatly reduces the shelf space required. This is the only thing that fails about Aldi. Let's say you want their Chicken Tikka sauce. The mixed boxes mean good chance you won't see it as Tikka always goes first. You go through the whole 6 boxes of inventory, and yep, all sold - the three spaces in every box. Same for pizza - one…
Surely that sort of thing is relatively easy to identify and use the data to adjust the relative quantities per pack?? All this flavour sells first, lets put more of that flavour in each box for people to select their purchase from?
Maybe, people return to get the Tikka, resulting in more sales??
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#323I guess I'm a weirdo who likes shopping there. Compared to Kroger or HEB I usually walk out of Aldi with a bill 50% cheaper than the other stores. We have our own bags and a picnic like basket thing we keep in the truck for Aldi stops. Yes it's "generic" but my uncle worked for a big food company that made big brand food and "generic" is often just a label change over the brand name. I can see why the rich people wou…
the crazy part about Aldi isn't just their food prices but the odd things that just show up dirt cheap. An example, a full 10x10 Gazebo that you assemble. Not with cheap like poles for full on L corners and netting. It was under $150 and just blows away stuff twice or more. The order of pricing in my area is Aldi So usually for us its Aldi when we are near for the basics, Wal Mart for some name brands, and old retail…
I just moved from Florida to the midwest. I'm still shopping at Aldi, but I miss Publix subs and their fried chicken.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#324Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you assume that retail companies are not looking at data already? Target was (in)famously able to predict that a teenager was pregnant before she herself knew based on her shopping habits. It's entirely possible that retail companies are already following a close to optimal strategy (don't sell too many items at such a low price because they're a loss leader?).
That's not what happened, and you should reflect on what made you think such an absurd claim is true. Target noticed she was pregnant before her father noticed. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-targ...
Sorry -- I misremembered the story. But as another commenter notes, it's routine for women to not know they are pregnant [0]. So my claim is not "absurd", and I don't feel any need to "reflect" on my actions. The patronization is not necessary.
The main intent of my anecdote is to show how retail companies are already analyzing data. And I think it's foolish to assume that we (i.e. people working directly in tech) know better than the people who are working in tech + retail. (Many retail stores are on the technical bleeding edge - Target spins up K8 clusters in each store [1]!)
[0] https://www.webmd.com/baby/features/can-you-be-pregnant-not-... [1] https://tech.target.com/infrastructure/2018/06/20/enter-unim...
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#325Earlier quoted context omitted.
In California you run the cart up a curb, leave it in an empty parking space, or maybe give it a gentle push and let it roam free. Corrals are depots for broken and rusted carts.
… /s. I really hate trying to turn into a spot that's flanked by two SUVs only to find a cart in the way. People are incredibly lazy. I love the ALDI's quarter scheme… it's just enough of a nudge to get people to do the decent thing.
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Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#326The one in my area is crap, many of the items are stale, and there is no produce.
I live in a major city and 10 years ago it was like that. It's only recently, after a neighbor said it had changed, I went back. They have fresh produce there now, and it's good quality, and cheap. The selection isn't huge, but it has like 90% of what I want.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#327> "New customers may be jolted at first by the experience of shopping at an Aldi, which expects its customers to endure a number of minor inconveniences not typical at other American grocery stores..."
The "unconvinces" listed are true. However, what I believe this article, and the rest of the "super market" industry is missing is that inexchange customers get simplicity and a sense of normalicy.
Aldi's success is as much about what they do offer (i.e., low prices) as what they do not (e.g., a ridiculous number of peanut butters that overwhelm your already saturated brain.)
My gut tells me there are lessons to be learned from this "trend" for other brands and products.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#328So, "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 i…
”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_... ) Back to Aldi: it always surprises me that the two Aldi’s don’t get acc…
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Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#329Earlier quoted context omitted.
The main reason I have always heard mentioned why they have a deposit is that shopping carts are really expensive and they don't want people to take them home, have teens do silly things with them etc. Maybe that's not so much a problem in the US, where I imagine supermarkets may not be in the city center but mostly reachable by car and thus less foot traffic to take the carts? But maybe the deposit here in Europe is…
> The main reason I have always heard mentioned why they have a deposit is that shopping carts are really expensive and they don't want people to take them home, have teens do silly things with them etc. I'm sure the deposit is just to encourage people to put the carts back where they belong, reducing the amount of work staff need to do outside the store. If you're going to steal a shopping cart, the quarter won't fa…
Yes, they have egress locks activated by magnet that locks the wheels, or they have another physical lock system, at each pedestrian exit to the car-park of my local supermarket -- that's one reason they are really inconvenient for pedestrians accessing the site, they want to have trolley controls.
The exits are narrow with soft soil and low hedges bordering the paths. You can lift a trolley over, but you need some muscle, especially if your trolley is full of shopping.
Re: Aldi, a brutally efficient grocery chain, is upending America's supermarkets
#330Earlier quoted context omitted.
You'd be surprised at what all counts as an "innovative" concept in the US. Coming over here from Europe as well, the country is 30-40 years backwards in many areas. (We do have wheel clamps, though ;)
The US has that stuff in bad neighborhoods. The wheel clamp is probably pretty standard in the urban areas and/or poor areas. Out in the well-off places where there aren't wandering street people, wheel clamps would be pointless. The expense, including repairs and downtime, is not justified.
The U.S. has that stuff in good neighborhoods too. It turns out the problem is less homeless people, and more affluent people who can't park close by and are too lazy ass to ever bring those carts back.
(I mean, seriously, Tarzana is neither urban nor a bad neighborhood. It does however have an entitlement surplus at the local Whole Foods)