Aldi - Reputation

Reputation

Originally Aldi stores were often ridiculed as being "cheap shops" selling low-quality goods, and that most of its customers could not afford to shop elsewhere. However, being held in low esteem by many did not seem to dent Aldi's profits. Gradually, German consumers discovered that the poor reputation of Aldi's products were neither deserved nor economically justifiable. This shift in public perception was boosted by cookbooks that used only Aldi ingredients, which led to the emergence of "Aldi fandom" into the German mainstream. This can be seen by books like Aldidente with recipes containing only ingredients found at Aldi (which was later sold as an Aldi special), as well as the German-language newsgroup de.alt.fan.aldi. In the UK, Aldi has become known for its low prices and quality produce. Aldi often is compared favourably to rivals such as Lidl. More recent advertising claiming that most UK customers prefer Aldi's non-branded products to more-expensive branded products has also changed the country's perception of the company.

Author Barry Berman, in his book on world-class retailers indicates that Aldi's and Costco spend an extraordinary effort to ensure that their private label products are viewed by consumers as equal to, if not better than, leading name-brand products. Other than for "special buys", if a name-brand product is sold by Aldi, it's because Aldi couldn't match their quality. Berman asserts that WalMart abandoned Germany when they couldn't compete with Aldi.