A Deep Dive into Aldi's History

Including 7 Facts about Theo and Karl Albrecht, who changed grocery shopping forever

The original Aldi, in Germany.

Things got away from me this week! I mean I had a lot of things to do and take care of. I missed a lunch I was supposed to go on with a group of my friends. I missed my longed-for meeting with the Keeper of the Giant Anteater.

And also as a result of my schedule, I had to order from Aldi.

I do this through Instacart. I first got into this occasional habit during Covid. That was when I realized the beauty of ordering groceries.

I turned into an Aldi princess!

One thing that makes ordering groceries an adventure is that there are mysteries. Sometimes you get what you order, and sometimes you do not.

For instance, this last time around, I did not get the cabbage I had asked for. Imagine, not being able to get a cabbage from a German grocery store! However I did get several things I had not ordered, including a five-pound bag of potatoes, a bag of mini avocados, and two quart bottles of white vinegar.

I am willing to call it square. You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes, you get what you need!

It is not like one other time when I ended up with a gigantic, I mean epic, package of Oreos. What they heck was I supposed to do with 500 Oreos? I think I brought them to church coffee hour or something. One Oreo will not kill you.

I think I called about the Oreos. However it takes a lot to make me complain.

I just have too much love for Aldi. And when I go there in person …

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash

… which is often, I see these professional shoppers, hopping around, grabbing things. They always seem happy and competent. Maybe they have secret reasons for bringing me what they do.

Did you know there is a Karl Albrecht Haus? It is in Essen, Germany, in the region they call North Rhine-Westphalia. Buffalo’s sister city, Dortmund, is in that region as well.

You may virtually visit the Karl Albrecht Haus on the site Virtual Globetrotting.

Quoth the site:

Karl Albrecht, who died on July 16, 2014, was the co-founder and co-owner of Aldi, one of the world's largest grocery store chains. At the time of his death, Forbes ranked him as the richest German, worth an estimated $25.9 billion.

Albrecht lived in this relatively modest home for nearly 60 years, and died here at the age of 94. He and his brother, Aldi co-founder Theo who died in 2010, were generally regarded as two of the world's most reclusive business tycoons.

That is the original Aldi store pictured at the top of this post. It incredibly survived the war. Essen was the home of the Krupp arms manufacturers and the city was bombed hundreds of times. I remember my father telling me that every night when you would hear the bombing targets on the news, Essen was always on the list.

Essen means “eats,” as in “delicatessen.” I wonder why that is not made more of. I mean, where else would Aldi originate?

Here are some strange facts about the Brothers Albrecht, Karl and Theo.

1. Theo was kidnapped in 1971 and was locked in a closet in a house in Dusseldorf. I never knew that! Wasn’t Heineken, the Dutch beer magnate, also kidnapped back around then? It must have been a thing.

2. The Albrechts were frugal to the core. Theo Albrecht’s kidnappers were puzzled by the ill-fitting suit he wore and insisted on checking his ID before taking him captive.

3. Theo was freed when the kidnappers were paid a ransom of 7 million marks. Afterwards, he took to traveling to and from work in an armored car, taking various routes. I do not blame him, I have to say. Imagine being kidnapped and locked in a closet!

4. Karl was reclusive too, in solidarity with him. When he was subjected to a surprise party for his 90th birthday, all he said was: "I did not want you all to come, I'm hungry and I'll go home soon." I am getting this vital information from mashed.com.

5. They collected typewriters. The site says: “When The Guardian published Theo's obituary, the list of hobbies and pastimes the brothers shared read much like anyone else's. They loved to play golf, they grew orchids, and they collected typewriters.” Who doesn’t collect typewriters? I have my dad’s under my desk right now.

6. Reportedly the Albrecht brothers gave generously to charity — though they did that secretly, the way they did everything else. I read somewhere that in Essen, Karl and Theo were seen as ghosts — that is, they were not seen.

7. Back to the brothers’ frugality — I am reading: “Theo was notorious for using pencils right down to the nubs, and both brothers were known for insisting the lights be turned off if they didn't deem them absolutely necessary — they didn't want to waste electricity.”

That’s not strange. That’s being German. I am always going around the house turning off lights. And I never throw out pencils with a lot of life left in them. We were always told not to.

I have no doubt that this kind of frugality contributed to their genius in creating this low-priced food chain.

Haha… I know this is long but what I am reading on this Mashed site gets funnier and funnier. Especially about the frugality.

In 1997, the brothers bought plots in a municipal Essen cemetery. According to The Guardian, the plots stood unattended and overgrown for so long that the cemetery complained to them that something needed to be done. Eventually, Aldi trucks turned up with landscaping equipment, trees, and flowers. Why did it take so long? They had been waiting for the plants to go on sale at their store.

I am not sure I believe that. But I love it.

Aldi forever!