+ Pensant Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 On 8/25/2023 at 2:34 PM, tassojunior said: Aldi is by far the largest grocer in the world and the chain that drove Wal Mart out of Europe with it's lower prices. It used to be on every other corner in Europe. But Lidl has been replacing it in Europe for the past couple decades and now is open in the US also. Lidl's US headquarters is next to DC National airport. (they have a "Lidl Express" in the building ). A few Lidls opened around DC the past few years, including one in Columbia Heights, DC with free parking a month ago.. I started going to as well as the Trader Joes a block from my house. (Aldis here are all in poorer suburban areas). Lidls are much bigger and cleaner and more modern than Aldis in the US. But they're similar German grocery stores with similar low prices and fierce competitors.. Both have a big selection of German imports, mostly candy and bakery. Lidl has a big fresh German bakery in every store. Imported Austrian Sacher Tortes, French stuffed escargots, and Greek fresh squid etc show up around the store. Aldi expanded rapidly in the US to working class suburbs and stalled because of it's small "basic" stores. Lidl is seen as the more American-looking store that will capture the US market with similar prices and products. The "10%" upper class order their groceries now and the working class just can't afford the inflation we've had in food but they don't want to give up big modern stores to deal with Aldi. The selection at Trader Joe's, Lidl and Aldi is very similar. TJs sells more high-end US products under their name. Lidl and Aldi sell similar EU-made products under their name. Lidls are twice as big as TJ or Aldi. TJs have too many employees (they block the aisles) and their prices have recently soared because of that. Some comparisons with my Trader Joe's prices: Avocados: TJ today: $2.49 each for medium. Lidl: 72 cents each for extra jumbo, 50 cents for large. Cheap bread: TJ's $2.29 loaf for small cheapest white. Lidl- Always 50 cents a loaf for extra large white bread. Cheddar Cheese spread with flavors: TJs: 4.99 , Lidl: $2.49 Gallon 1% Skim Milk: TJ's 3.99 ; Lidl 2.22 18oz peanut butter: TJs 3.29; Lidl 1.50 (on sale). Lidl and Aldi have a few national brands but, like TJ's are mostly store brands at half the price of TJ's brands. There have been stories about how the biggest gainer from our runaway grocery inflation has been Aldi. I go up to Lidl once a week for both it's variety and savings while getting half as much stuff at TJs. Both Lidl and Aldi are full of working class people but American Aldis look a little run-down too. My Czech friends are always elated to find a Lidl or Aldi close to anywhere we stay, including the French Riviera and Piccadilly Square. I believe Lidl is Austrian, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ tassojunior Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 36 minutes ago, Pensant said: I believe Lidl is Austrian, no? No, Lidl is definitely very German. Billa is the Austrian company with 1000 stores in Austria and 4000 in eastern Europe. Vienna has only 2 or 3 Lidls or Aldis but has a Billa on every other corner. But you see fewer and fewer Aldi's in Europe as Lidl has been the main attraction the past decade. There are only 4000 Aldis in Europe now and 12,000 Lidls according to Wikipedia. With high-end German bakeries and lower prices Lidl and Billa blow Aldi's dingy little stores away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhexum Posted August 29, 2023 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Aldi Is Selling the Cutest Dog Bathrobes For $5 https://apple.news/A5PAOv3f7QSenAmEl2d-7sg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ tassojunior Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Why Lidl is an Aldi crusher and why I do half my shopping there and half at Trader Joes now. Large white bread always 50 cents a loaf, super jumbo avocados (less than half TJ's mediums), fresh-from-oven big Pretzel rolls and Chibatta bread. Hen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MscleLovr Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 (edited) And Lidl now has Arnold Schwarzenegger as a ‘brand ambassador’ for their power tools 😀 Edited August 30, 2023 by MscleLovr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
top_guy_atl Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 I live within walking distance of an Aldi, a Trader Joe's and a Publix. Once I started going to Aldi, I stopped going to Trader Joe's all together and rarely go to Publix. It's mainly for the prices, but if the quality of products wasn't good, the price wouldn't matter to me. Recently, I saw a box of plain Cheerios at Publix for $7.79 (18oz). That price offended me so much I had to take a picture. The somewhat smaller box of the Aldi version (12oz) is $1.45. At Costco, I recently saw whole milk for 3.69, at Aldi it was 2.65. No one can beat Aldi on price. I've never seen more than one cashier on duty at a time, but they are extremely fast and can move the line quickly. Aldi products have extra large bar codes on all sides to make scanning more efficient. The quarter for a cart thing doesn't bother me because the reason they do it actually works. I've never seen a loose cart in the parking lot. mike carey and bobsboy51 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 5 hours ago, tassojunior said: Why Lidl is an Aldi crusher and why I do half my shopping there and half at Trader Joes now. Large white bread always 50 cents a loaf, super jumbo avocados (less than half TJ's mediums), fresh-from-oven big Pretzel rolls and Chibatta bread. Their breads and rolls are amazing! + tassojunior 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 2 minutes ago, Hen said: Their breads and rolls are amazing! 5 hours ago, tassojunior said: Why Lidl is an Aldi crusher and why I do half my shopping there and half at Trader Joes now. Large white bread always 50 cents a loaf, super jumbo avocados (less than half TJ's mediums), fresh-from-oven big Pretzel rolls and Chibatta bread. Actually, I go to a more expensive supermarket (Pavilions) for the most part because they carry whole wheat bagels, sandwich/burger buns, and hot dog buns, which most other supermarkets don't carry. I won't eat white bread unless I really have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ tassojunior Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 3 hours ago, Hen said: Their breads and rolls are amazing! If nothing else I would have to go there for the Pretzel Rolls they bake. They are my favorite for sandwiches. Their super colossal Black Tiger shrimp is also addictive. (13-15 size). And their super jumbo avocados should be x-rated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ azdr0710 Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 On 8/26/2023 at 10:03 AM, Charlie said: I seem to remember a few other European grocery chains that entered the US market with a big bang (British ones especially), but decided they had made an economic mistake and pulled out completely after a couple of years. I wonder if Aldi and Lidl will do the same. this made me go look up the one I was trying to remember......"Fresh and Easy", a chain owned by Brit company Tesco tried really hard about ten years ago in Arizona, California, and Nevada, but failed.......I went there once and it seemed fine, but I remember only pre-packaged produce being available....... https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/dec/09/fresh-not-easy-tesco-british-failure-america https://business.time.com/2013/04/18/tale-of-two-supermarkets-why-fresh-easy-flopped-and-fairway-flies-high/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ Charlie Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 10 hours ago, azdr0710 said: this made me go look up the one I was trying to remember......"Fresh and Easy", a chain owned by Brit company Tesco tried really hard about ten years ago in Arizona, California, and Nevada, but failed.......I went there once and it seemed fine, but I remember only pre-packaged produce being available....... https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/dec/09/fresh-not-easy-tesco-british-failure-america https://business.time.com/2013/04/18/tale-of-two-supermarkets-why-fresh-easy-flopped-and-fairway-flies-high/ Fresh&Easy was the one I was thinking of, too. I shopped there a number of times when they came to Palm Springs, because they has some things that I remembered I used to buy when I lived in London. + azdr0710 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBiDude Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 This conversation has me looking for Aldi! Found two relatively close, I'll be checking it out soon. EZEtoGRU 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhexum Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 On 8/30/2023 at 10:45 AM, MscleLovr said: And Lidl now has Arnold Schwarzenegger as a ‘brand ambassador’ for their power tools 😀 On 8/30/2023 at 9:36 AM, tassojunior said: Why Lidl is an Aldi crusher and why I do half my shopping there and half at Trader Joes now. Large white bread always 50 cents a loaf, super jumbo avocados (less than half TJ's mediums), fresh-from-oven big Pretzel rolls and Chibatta bread. On 8/30/2023 at 3:26 PM, Hen said: Their breads and rolls are amazing! European grocery chain Lidl to officially open at Queens Place Mall on Wednesday Aldi is at the Rego Center Mall a few blocks away, along with Costco. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylander1940 Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Hell, yeah! EVERYTHING is 1, 2 or even 3 dollars cheaper. Obviously nothing beats Costco but I have to ask a friend for a ride to go there while Lidl is only 15 blocks from my place and I can walk there anytime. samhexum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samhexum Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 2 hours ago, marylander1940 said: Lidl is only 15 blocks from my place and I can walk there anytime. God bless(ed) you. marylander1940 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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