German trade publication Manager Magazin sent the rumour mill into overdrive late last week, when it reported that Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd were planning to tighten the level of cooperation between their two operations, with a potential merger said to be on the cards.
The magazine cited notes from a meeting of 16 'senior Aldi managers' at Aldi Süd's headquarters in Mülheim last November.
At said meeting was reportedly discussed a project known as 'Kooperation Aldi Nord – Aldi Süd', which would see purchasing, logistics, marketing, quality control and other functions increasingly harmonised across the two businesses.
'Further organisational steps of cooperation' were also reportedly discussed, which was taken by some analysts to indicate that a merger was a potential outcome.
As Planet Retail put it, "We view this as a positive step forward from an increasingly aligned Aldi organisation."
Back Together?
A merger between Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd would certainly be historic, in that it is now 57 years since brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht went their separate ways, reportedly over a dispute on the sale of cigarettes in their stores, to form Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord, respectively.
It was a year, 1961, that, incidentally, also saw the erection of the Berlin Wall.
Today, Aldi Nord is responsible for Aldi stores in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Poland, Spain, Denmark and Portugal, while the business also operates the Trader Joe's markets in the United States. Aldi Süd's operations include Austria and Slovenia (as Hofer), Great Britain, Ireland, Australia and Switzerland, as well as the US, under the Aldi name.
It would appear, however, that such a merger is not on the cards, with both discounters issuing a curt statement on the back of the Manager Magazin news: 'A merger is not considered and also not planned.'
Collective Thinking
This isn't likely to stop Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd working more closely together – a strategy that appears to have accelerated in recent months, particularly around the area of sustainability.
In January, the two retailers jointly announced a future purchasing policy to use only sustainably sourced wood and wood-based products by the end of 2020 – one of a host of joint announcements that the two operators have made in the past few months.
In December, the two retailers announced a commitment to sourcing all flowers and plants from sustainable sources, while, in October, both groups joined the World Banana Forum, an initiative that promotes fair working conditions and sustainable production in the banana sector.
Additionally, last summer, both retailers announced plans to cease the availability of disposable plastic bags at the checkout – an initiative that is expected to be fully completed by the end of the year.
Away from environmental issues, last October, both retailers also launched a gift-card campaign that enabled consumers to shop in both Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd outlets.
"We want our customers to be able to redeem the gift cards with particular ease," an Aldi Nord spokesperson said at the time. "That's why the cards are valid in all Aldi stores throughout Germany."
A full-scale merger might not be on the horizon, but after close to six decades of operating separately, the two Aldis appear more closely aligned than ever.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
