Aldi (Aldi)

Member Name: joannabelle88

Product:	Aldi
Date:	19/09/09 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, good range, high quality

Disadvantages: no baskets, busy

Based on a similar principle to Lidl, Aldi is a budget supermarket, that originated in Germany, and has now branched out around Europe. The stores generally seem to follow the "pile it high, sell it cheap" policy, and thus when walking around a store, you will notice that there are few shelves, and those that there are are basic. Instead Aldi sell out of the box, with prices shown over the top of the product. This lack of merchandising allows them to keep the prices lower as they need fewer staff, and thus they are often very competitve pricewise.

When you enter a store you can walk around like any other supermarket, often dried products and breads are near the entrance, with chilled products being towards the back. Their stores aren't huge, and the middle aisles are normally filled with the weekly offers, which are generally themed depending on the time of the year. Despite the size of the stores however, it is easy to pick up everything you would need for a basic shop. They are also very good if you are looking for mediteranean items, such as antipasti, pesto or mozarella, as their product do tend to be genuinely italian, and of a higher quality to many supermarkets.

One major disadvantage with Aldi is that they do not have baskets, and so you either need to carry all your shopping or have a trolley. With a store that is quite full with goods already this can make the aisles congested, and thus if doing a big shop I'd avoid peak times.

Furthermore, they often only have one of 2 tills open, and so queues can build rather quickly.

Opening times are generally 8-8, although some stores close at 6. They also open sundays, and most have a free car park attached.

Overall, ALdi is a good supermarket, where some real bargains can be picked up. However, due to their small size, peak times are best avoided.

Summary: a good supermarket