ALDI short for "ALbrecht DIscount", is a discountsupermarketchain based in Germany. The chain is made up of two separate groups, ALDI Nord (North - operating as ALDI MARKT) and ALDI Süd (South - operating as ALDI SÜD), which operate independently from each other within specific market boundaries.
The individual groups were originally owned and managed by brothers Karl Albrecht and Theo Albrecht; both have since retired. However, they are still Germany's richest men. Aldi's German operations currently consist of Aldi Nord's 35 individual regional companies with about 2,500 stores in Northern and Eastern Germany, and Aldi Süd's 31 regional companies with 1,600 stores in Western and Southern Germany. Internationally, Aldi Nord operates in Denmark, France, the Benelux countries, the Iberian peninsula and Poland, while Aldi Süd operates in countries including the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia (operating as Hofer in Austria and Slovenia) and Australia.
According to a survey conducted in 2002 by the German market research institute Forsa, 95% of blue-collar workers, 88% of white-collar workers, 84% of public servants and 80% of self-employed Germans shop at Aldi.