During the summer of 2019 I had the opportunity to intern with ALDI USA, a discount supermarket chain originally founded in Germany. The ALDI Group operates over 10,000 stores worldwide in 20 countries, being the United States the second largest market by number of outlets. It is amazing to think about how interconnected the world is today: I am an international student from the Dominican Republic, studying at Florida International University, and interning with a German company. I performed as a District Manager Intern with the goal of learning about the tasks associated with managerial positions, the retail industry, and company culture. I worked with a current district manager and dived deep into staffing, policy supervision, employee development, and other day-to-day responsibilities. This experience was not only professionally enriching for me, but it was an opportunity to learn about the processes and challenges a foreign company may encounter while operating in the United States.

 

      The ALDI Group came to this culturally different country without forgetting their core values and management system, which is often referred to as “the ALDI way”. During my internship it was interesting to see costumers from various cultural backgrounds navigate through the stores and feel confused about certain unique factors of ALDI outlets. First, the shopping carts, which requires the costumer to insert a quarter (25 cents) in order to use it. However, customers can get the money back if they return the carts, which minimizes the labor of collecting carts left in the parking area. This practice is very common in Germany but not in the United States, so patiently educating the costumer is necessary to reduce dissatisfaction among American costumers.

 

      Second, the absence of typical name brands American consumers are accustomed to purchase. ALDI outlets carries several private label products, such as or , that offer the same quality and taste. They also offer a great variety of products commonly consumed in Germany, like spaetzle, schnitzel, or doppel keks (sandwich cookies). Offering a completely different line of products in the United States can be challenging since it requires a mindset shift. Americans tend to connect brand names and price with quality, so lower priced products with unknown brands are not always appealing for the typical consumer. To overcome this mentality and to showcase the value of their products, ALDI offers a return policy called “Twice as Nice”, which means that if customers are not satisfied with the product, they would receive a replacement item and still be fully refunded.

 

      As I mentioned, ALDI’s management system is different for many American consumer, but their practices can be considered typical in Western Europe. ALDI Group didn’t expand to the United States by blindly adapting to the market. Instead, they brought their core values, company culture, and system to this vast market with growth potential. Their core values, consistency, simplicity, and responsibility, are present in their daily operations, and that brand commitment is what makes “the ALDI way” successful in the United States.