Thinking differently about value

ALDI founders Karl and Theo Albrecht would have agreed with Wal-Mart's founder Sam Walton. Walton was obsessed with detail. So were the Albrecht brothers. Walton and his managers knew that there is no magic formula for success, but that numerous small things contribute to it. ALDI shares this conviction: retail is detail: paying attention to all the success factors over decades. ALDI's success is the success of setting voluntary limits. For decades ALDI North kept its product range down to 600 items. At present this figure has presumably grown to 700. Ultimately in retailing, success is not decided by "buying power" and purchasing expertise. It is decided by marketing: the ability to truly focus on customer needs. ALDI could not have achieved its current success without close working relationships with its suppliers. Companies should be capable of developing their own business principles in line with their own cultures. ALDI has succeeded in doing this.