Aldi Retail 10 Years

Client: Aldi Stores UK

Aldi, a limited-range deep-discount supermarket from Germany achieved astonishing success in the UK grocery category over ten years by taking a fresh approach to marketing communications, powered by building a strong, collaborative relationship with its creative and media agencies, McCann Manchester and UM Manchester.

Aldi went from being a tiny player with 2% value share in 2010, to the UK’s no.5, with a value share of 7.9% in 2021.

Aldi beat Lidl, their German rival in the UK. They overtook Co-Op and Waitrose, and they ended 2021 not just snapping at Morrison’s heels in value sales but actually overtaking them in volume sales.

The approach was to ‘act like the pirates, not the navy.’ It was a challenger mindset that took Aldi from being a store people were ashamed to shop at, to one more and more people felt proud to. It’s been the biggest retail success story of the last 12 years, and in the light of Aldi’s continuing growth, it’s a story that’s far from over.