Following Carlos Slim Helu, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal, Lawrence Ellison, Bernard Arnault, Eike Batista and Amancio Ortega, Germany’s Karl Albrecht made it to the top ten World’s Billionaires list by Forbes. Together with his brother Theo, Albrecht founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi (“ALbrecht DIscount”) in 1913 and he saw his fortune growing ever since. No doubt, Aldi is among the most popular discount stores in Germany, followed closely by Lidl, Norma, Penymarkt and a few others.
Aldi’s success was never dependent on advertising – the company has never spent money on ads in Germany – believing more in covering a real need for the consumers. The strategy worked, despite the initial backlash. Aldi stores were often ridiculed as being cheap shops selling low-quality goods, but the management hasn’t changed its policy. On the contrary, Aldi stores continued selling cheap goods, and ensured the success of its stores by publishing cooking books that promoted Aldi ingredients.
Today, the stores have a strong line of organic foods, and even boast some popular brands (most likely brands made strong by Aldi’s popularity). Aldi’s customers are no longer seen as poor people, and the stores are no longer being ridiculed.
After all these years, although since a long time retired, 90 years old Karl Albrecht is still the richest man in Germany, and the tenth in the world, with an estimated net worth in 2010 of $23.5 billion according to Forbes Magazine. Note that last year he was the sixth in the same top.
About Liliana Dumitru-Steffens
