Sign In
  • Best Buys
  • Household Money
  • Banking & Borrowing
  • Mortgages & Home
  • Saving & Making Money
  • Rights, Scams & Politics
  • Motoring & Travel
  • Investing & Pensions
  • Savings & ISAs
  • Features
  • Compare

The remarkable rise of Aldi, and the turbulent family story at its core

The budget store billionaires
Humble roots
Thrifty family with a savvy business plan
Growing popularity
Germany's first self-service store
The great Aldi split
The new two Aldis
International expansion
Kidnapping of Theo Albrecht
Reclusive CEOs
Founders pass on the reins
The shocking will of the Aldi 'grande dame'
US launch
Trader Joe's acquisition
Fast-paced expansion in Germany
UK launch
Unstoppable international expansion
Aldi vs Lidl in France
Reaching Italy
Aldi's Grexit
Expansion to China
What's the secret?
New initiatives
Global domination
Aldi Süd worldwide
Aldi Nord worldwide
6 of 27
PETER KNEFFEL/AFP/Getty Images

Germany's first self-service store

In 1954, keen to innovate, the entrepreneurial brothers made retail history again by opening Germany's first self-service store. It was a great success.

By 1960, Theo and Karl Albrecht owned 300 stores with an annual turnover of millions. But that same year, something happened that would change the business forever...

Gallery view |
List View

Alice Cattley

02 October 2024

Features

See more on this topic

Share the love