Originally Aldi stores were often ridiculed as being cheap shops selling low-quality goods and that Aldi's customers are all poor people who couldn't afford to shop elsewhere. It was sometimes joked that "Food stamps are the official currency of Aldi." However, being held in such low esteem by many did not seem to dent Aldi's profits. Gradually many German consumers discovered that the poor reputation of Aldi's products was either undeserved or economically justifiable. This shift in public perception was boosted by actions like a series of cookbooks that only used Aldi ingredients, which led to the emergence of a kind of Aldi fandom into parts of the German mainstream. This can be seen by books like Aldidente with recipes containing only ingredients found at Aldi (which was later sold as a special at Aldi), as well as the German language newsgroup de.alt.fan.aldi.
In countries such as the UK, where the level of service and presentation of mainstream supermarkets such as Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons is higher than in Aldi's native Germany, Aldi's public reputation has not improved in the same way even though the external store design and product packaging itself is often of higher quality.[neutrality disputed] Yet, due to an overall high price level in British retailing and Aldi's strong commitment to continuous low prices, the firm remains profitable.[citation needed] While it is still a small player with a grocery market share of less than 3%, its importance along with that of continental no frills competitor Lidl is growing. Also, Aldi is aggressively recruiting management staff at such top UK institutions as the University of Warwick and others.
In the United States, like most US supermarkets, Aldi stores in many American states accept public assistance debit-style cards as payment. In addition, Aldi, along with its main competitor in the United States, Save-A-Lot, and Price Rite are among the few businesses to have actually benefited from high gas prices due to the inexpensive prices on groceries.
In many areas of Australia, Aldi filled a void in the discount supermarket business that arose when the popular discount grocery chain Franklins ceased trading in 2002, except in New South Wales. For example in Queensland Aldi aims to have 50 stores across the state by the end of 2008 in areas with a population of about 20,000 residents. [8]
Competitors
Australia
* BI-LO * Coles * Food For Less * Franklins * IGA * Woolworths
