Ok, so there has been a comment about Aldi. Aldi is a limited selection discount grocery chain here in Germany. In other words, it doesn't have everything you're looking for, but what it has, is deeply discounted. It is the same company that some of you have nearby; probably in some low-rent neighborhood. It should tell you something about the success of this chain that despite the low prices, its founders are among the richest people in Germany (if not number 1!), and this in a country where Walmart couldn't compete.. Surprisingly, their food is quite good in general; their jelly in particular is outstanding.
However, like almost all German retailers, Aldi has side lines outside of the core of groceries. In addition to travel packages and branded prepaid cellphone accounts, every week they have a selection of non-food items - clothes, household items, automobile accessories, furniture... again, a very limited selection of styles, but very deeply discounted. Visiting Aldi on a Monday morning when they have children's clothes on sale is akin to visiting Filene's Basement on the day of their bridal sale (for those of you not from the Boston area, you'll just have to trust me that it's wild).
The odd effect of Aldi is, that if you are yourself an Aldi shopper, you can immediately recognize other Aldi families. This is because their kids are dressed in the same jackets as yours (there were 2 styles on sale last week), and the Easter decor on their table is one you almost bought yourself. Going to pick up Peter at school is a challenge - when they are on the playground, there are so many blond kids in Aldi grey jackets, it takes me a while to pick him out. Usually I pick the smallest kid, and that's usually my child.
To those of you in America you happen to live near an Aldi - get over the neighborhood it is in and visit it. This is the same company, and they often feature items imported from the German branch. The dark chocolate is really good; and the Stollen (German fruit bread for Christmas) is the same as they sell here in Germany. You can see their specials online - www.aldi.com.
Happy shopping.
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1 comment:
Wow, I learned more about Aldi from this than I did from the store itself. Had no idea about those "special purchase" thangs. We may have to check it out again! (The cash-only deal is a bit of a pain, but maybe we can handle it after all.)
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