An Aldi in Birmingham: on a Monday morning at 10:00 this shop is spotless. A fresh, clean appearance, full shelves and a wide variety of nice fresh fruit and vegetables. There are also some trendy options, such as mini vegetables and vegetable spaghetti. Here, Aldi proves why it is considered the best supermarket for vegetables.
The number of shoppers proves that British consumers agree with this. It is busy, in contrast to traditional English supermarkets we visited that Monday morning. The Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons and Asda visited on that day were disappointing, to say the least. Untidy, with half-full shelves and poor quality fresh produce. Lots of second class, and often rotting, products. This was the case in the less well-off suburbs, as well as the chic 'Cotswolds' area. No improvements; no change.
It is obvious that British supermarkets are embroiled in a price war which is being strongly waged on the shelves. It can not get any worse than the large brightly coloured stickers on the large bags of basic vegetables in the shelves of the traditional supermarkets.
But not at Aldi. Normal sized stickers on the products. And their offers? It seems you have to find them first. You see the products on posters, pictured in such a way, with no packaging, as to make one's mouth water. The pay-off 'while stock lasts' makes it even more appealing.
With regards to prices, Lidl and Aldi are on a par in the UK. The Lidl shop is just that bit more modern with its lovely display of meat. And, here and there, Lidl plays well on the trends, like mini fruit and vegetables for lunch boxes. Yet, there was only one cashier open at Lidl where all six were open at Aldi.
Aldi in England is Aldi Süd, which has always been more modern and current than Aldi Nord. Is what I saw at Aldi Süd, a precursor of what Aldi Nord is going to do in the Netherlands? Exciting times ahead.
The number of shoppers proves that British consumers agree with this. It is busy, in contrast to traditional English supermarkets we visited that Monday morning. The Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons and Asda visited on that day were disappointing, to say the least. Untidy, with half-full shelves and poor quality fresh produce. Lots of second class, and often rotting, products. This was the case in the less well-off suburbs, as well as the chic 'Cotswolds' area. No improvements; no change.
It is obvious that British supermarkets are embroiled in a price war which is being strongly waged on the shelves. It can not get any worse than the large brightly coloured stickers on the large bags of basic vegetables in the shelves of the traditional supermarkets.
But not at Aldi. Normal sized stickers on the products. And their offers? It seems you have to find them first. You see the products on posters, pictured in such a way, with no packaging, as to make one's mouth water. The pay-off 'while stock lasts' makes it even more appealing.
It is fascinating to see how Aldi won its place in the British supermarket landscape. Low prices are a given at Aldi; everyone knows that, no communication is needed. Aldi does, however, talk about tasty and healthy eating, with a spot-on assortment. The trendy products, including ready-to-eat meals and vegetarian options are commonplace. The biggest plus point is how easy these products are to find. Where, at other supermarkets, you have to dig through lots of products to find what you are looking for, at Aldi you find everything very easily throughout the shop.
With regards to prices, Lidl and Aldi are on a par in the UK. The Lidl shop is just that bit more modern with its lovely display of meat. And, here and there, Lidl plays well on the trends, like mini fruit and vegetables for lunch boxes. Yet, there was only one cashier open at Lidl where all six were open at Aldi.
Aldi in England is Aldi Süd, which has always been more modern and current than Aldi Nord. Is what I saw at Aldi Süd, a precursor of what Aldi Nord is going to do in the Netherlands? Exciting times ahead.
