Strategic Analysis Of ALDI Essay

The reputation and recognition make Aldi attractive in the marketing activities and this aspect needs to be improved in the future to compete with both existing and forthcoming rivals. Meanwhile, the high buying power and costs control would help Aldi to diversify its products and increase market penetration to serve diverse Australian population. This leads to the reconsideration of Aldi’s current strategy of limiting product range to adopt other strategies as a number of differentiation strategies has been used by other

Despite the economical recession that the US currently faces, all around the country, ALDI continues to grow. ALDI is recently celebrating the opening of their 1,000th U.S. store in West Haven, Connecticut. At a time when other retailers are cutting back and the recession is deepening, ALDI continues to build new stores in 29 states nationwide and also around the globe.

As Aldi has already established itself as a large discount supermarket chain with over 10,000 stores in 18 different countries including Australia (2001), and holds a large market share in the grocery world due to its business culture and market leading initiatives. This report aims to provide the ALDI board of directors with:

1.3 Physical Resources & Capabilities The ALDI brothers took over the family business of their parents in 1946. World wide expansion led to enormous growth. This comprises around 9800 stores (1000 to 1500 SQM each). The layout is simple with wide ails designed to refill shelves in the fastest, most convenient way {Brands, D. 2003}. They offer a small assortment of mainly fast-moving items (approximately 700 food – including a slim and organic line- and non food products). Small warehouses are located at the back of each store. Affiliates are equipped with limited technology such as intelligent cash systems high-end product concerning quality and price and bottle deposit machines. ALDI won the 2008 energy management award for great results in terms of cooling systems, illumination etc. Most stores have about 100 parking space and a shopping cart area near the entrance. ALDI has a long history which implies that they have gained great experience over the years. The location and layout of stores are designed to support fast and efficient supply and not especially aimed at customer needs. This is a weakness. Stores advantageously located as there are in convenient reach for consumers. Their product range is adapted to various consumer needs (organic, healthy living). The technological equipments are of high quality enabling fast operations at the checkout (ALDI’s staff are two times faster compared with other similar operations). This is

Promotions – Aldi uses a combination of above-the-line and below-the-line promotions with a focus on its ‘Like Brands’ and ‘Swap & Save’ campaigns.

From the time it opened, Aldi has expanded the number of product assortments that allow consumers to find nearly anything they need to supply and feed their families. Aldi developed a strong marketing program and decentralized their pricing and assortments that also include some well-known products. Aldi’s begins its value propositions to shoppers with its amazingly low prices. Their “hard” discount pricing, averages about 30% below standard supermarkets like Winn-Dixie or Kroger’s (Brick, 2016). They attribute their success and growth to the “hard discount” model as it has demonstrated to be highly effective. Aldi is different than “large” discounters like Walmart where Walmart’s varieties are limited in size and led by private label products, and investments are made in stores atmosphere, unfortunately, resulting in lackluster customer service. This allows “hard” discounters like Aldi to win the grocery price war by greater margins than Walmart, making Aldi a major competitor of Walmart (Bartone,

The threat of substitutes in the food retail industry can be high among the ‘Big Four’ as switching costs are relatively low and products can be similar. However, most have their own private labels and also target slightly different markets, such as Sainsbury’s having more upmarket positioning and Tesco’s cost leadership. Waitrose offers unique and differentiated products, which are, in the eyes of the consumer, significantly superior. No other supermarket offers such premium quality products with great service and such a large range of organic products as Waitrose, so this makes them extremely difficult to substitute. (Euromonitor, 2008).

This report is going to present the current culture of Aldi, critically examining its current culture and possible proposal for a change in culture. It identifies the current organisational culture, its strengths and weaknesses and make recommendations necessary for an organisational culture change.

The point is that both stores have advantages and disadvantages that the other can exploit, but if I had to choose which store had the competitive advantage I would have to say Aldi.

Aldi’s growth of new stores is a key part of the business strategy and therefore an area that receives close management attention. The new international optimum standard for new build stores has recently been agreed and set at 990sq/m for the very reasons. Also, when building new stores, the property management team are constantly looking at the level of new build costs. With a close eye for detail and a focus on stripping out unnecessary costs, looking for new innovations in ergonomics, as well as the way each site is physically constructed and fitted out. All these factors get micro attention to detail. ALDI has realized that “people are the key to every success” (Working for ALDI 2011). Because of the same, there is an efficient human resource

2. Price: Once again, Aldi triumphs with a 5 star rating for price. IGA, Woolworths & Coles received 3 stars each for price.

Nevertheless, the vertical value chain created by Aldi benefits the company’s corporate strategy. To be a local supplier,

Aldi was first founded in Essen, Germany in 1913 by the Albrecht family. The Albrecht family started selling groceries in their small shop. With big

High employment rates and a family culture are the main contributors to the lack of substitute services. Possible threats such as restaurants or takeaway stores do exist; however, their threat is minimal. Conversely, the intensity of rivalry among competitors is strong. In terms of market share it is extremely difficult for Aldi to penetrate the dominance of Woolworths and Coles, especially considering the current price war breaking out.

ALDI, a major German based retailer which operates 9,000 stores worldwide, has to account for such efficient strategies so that it has a competitive edge over other player. ALDI is Australia’s only supermarket operator that provides a range of exclusive brand, essential groceries at the lowest possible prices (ibis).