Aldi lead the competition with falling prices

For the first time in years the German food trade have seen prices falling. Since January discount leader Aldi have lowered the price of their eggs, instant coffee, breakfast cereals, wine, fish, butter, and now meat, so competitors must grudgingly follow. Market Researcher Wolfgang Adlwarth from German research company GfK calls the Aldi price offensive strategically good: "The company will sharpen their image as a price leader."

The industry expert believes that this is as important as ever for Aldi, since they now offer brand items such as Coca Cola and Nivea in their range and whose prices were higher compared to their competitors. Competitors such as Rewe and Lidl had played a game keeping the price of their own brand Coca Cola below that of the market leader. It is possible that the price fall is related to commodity prices which have stopped rising and which greatly influence food prices. "Aldi is using this to show the competition who is leading who here," said Matthias Queck from market consultancy Planet Retail.