AFP, Unterhaching :
Out with the cardboard boxes, rough forklift crates and no-frills warehouse look-in with cozy wood panelling, natural light and chilled fruit smoothies at the breakfast bar.
Aldi, Germany’s original discount supermarket chain, is getting a major facelift-spelling the end of an era, at least in design terms, for the traditional first-stop shop of the thrifty German housewife.
Rising competition has pushed the retail giant to move away from its “hard discount” industrial look that promised savings toward a luxurious customer experience.
Aldi Sued-the division of the brand that runs stores in Germany’s south and west-last week showed off its “Future Store” concept at Unterhaching near the southern city of Munich.
The new-look stores, set to be adopted in its nearly 1,900 locations in the next three years, will have products neatly stacked in shelves, rather than piled up or scattered on tables.
And a cafe area will offer fair trade coffee, fresh smoothies and other chilled beverages. There will be benches for senior citizens and customer toilets with baby changing tables.
Aldi, an empire built on shaving off unnecessary costs, declined to say how much its renovations will cost.
Jeannette Thull, head of central purchasing, said it wasn’t pushed to update its image but was responding to changing consumer tastes.
Out with the cardboard boxes, rough forklift crates and no-frills warehouse look-in with cozy wood panelling, natural light and chilled fruit smoothies at the breakfast bar.
Aldi, Germany’s original discount supermarket chain, is getting a major facelift-spelling the end of an era, at least in design terms, for the traditional first-stop shop of the thrifty German housewife.
Rising competition has pushed the retail giant to move away from its “hard discount” industrial look that promised savings toward a luxurious customer experience.
Aldi Sued-the division of the brand that runs stores in Germany’s south and west-last week showed off its “Future Store” concept at Unterhaching near the southern city of Munich.
The new-look stores, set to be adopted in its nearly 1,900 locations in the next three years, will have products neatly stacked in shelves, rather than piled up or scattered on tables.
And a cafe area will offer fair trade coffee, fresh smoothies and other chilled beverages. There will be benches for senior citizens and customer toilets with baby changing tables.
Aldi, an empire built on shaving off unnecessary costs, declined to say how much its renovations will cost.
Jeannette Thull, head of central purchasing, said it wasn’t pushed to update its image but was responding to changing consumer tastes.
