|
by Joe Kirkpatrick
Walmart is now the largest grocery store chain in America. Walmart, founded by Sam Walton, got to this market position by following Walton's principle of "everyday low prices." Unfortunately, since Sam's death some years ago, Walmart has strayed from the principle that it was built on. Even though competitive, Walmart now does not offer the same level of low pricing it once did.
Aldi is a discount grocery chain that has locations in many countries. They have been very successful by following a very simple principle: Everyday low prices. Hmmm - seems like we heard of another very large company who became successful using that same principle! Aldi goes several steps further to insure true everyday low prices vs. the higher prices offered by their competitor Walmart. At Aldi, you "rent" your shopping buggy for a quarter. Don't worry, your quarter is returned when you return it to the buggy rack, eliminating the need to pay "buggy boys" to retrieve them from the parking lot. There are no bags furnished at Aldi. You either bring your own, or you can purchase them there for a small fee. Since they don't furnish bags, they do not bag the groceries either. All the items you purchase are placed loosely into a buggy, and then you take them over to a counter in the front of the store and bag them yourself. If stock needs to be put up at Aldi during the day, the cashiers do it when they are not busy. All of this results in fewer employees than any of its competitors, and Aldi can pass the savings on to their customers.
Last week, I went to both Walmart on Keith Street, and Aldi on Paul Huff Parkway in Cleveland, Tennessee on the same day. I picked twelve items at random so I could compare prices between the two stores. All items were the generic brands of both stores, and were identical in size. I have personally used all of the Walmart brand products and Aldi products myself, and could tell no difference in the taste. With the eggs and sardines, Walmart did not offer a generic brand, so I picked the one they offered at the lowest price. Below is the list:
|
|
