TheALDIemblazoned in vainglorious , block alphabetic character on signs around the world has come to stand for focus - free , affordable foodstuff shopping — but what does it literally stand for ?

view it ’s almost always import in all - detonating machine , ALDIgives off a decidedly acronymic vibration ; perhaps you think it abbreviate “ Awesome Lunch and Dinner Items , ” or “ Always have it off Discounts , Inc. ” In reality , the name is a shortened rendering of just two word : Albrecht - Diskont , or , in English , Albrecht ’s Discount . ( So if you take on the word discount was part of the equation , give yourself a well - earned pat on the back . )

AsReader ’s Digestreports , Albrecht ’s Discount start as a unmarried grocery storage found by Anna Albrecht in 1913 in Essen , Germany . Ownership go on to her Word , Karl and Theo , in 1948 , and they soon develop it into a big , home - run dealership . By 1952 , there were more than 100 location in operation , and the first U.S. store opened in Iowa in 1976 .

Sadly, ALDI doesn’t stand for “Awesome Lunch and Dinner Items” or “Always Loving Discounts, Inc.”

By that time , Albrecht - Diskonthad been castrate toAldi , keep only the first two letters of each word . We do n’t precisely eff how that decisiveness was made , but we do know when it happen — in 1961 , when the brothers contend over the sales agreement of fag in their store . According toThe New York Times , they split the company intoAldi Süd , which Karl ran in southern Germany , andAldi Nord , which Theo ran in the northerly part of the country . As their business grow , Karl ’s legal power included Britain , Australia , and the U.S. , while Theo covered all of Europe . Sometime during that expansion , stores came to be know simply as “ ALDI . ”

If you ’re looking to call up your local ALDI and inquire for more details , however , you probably wo n’t be capable to find a sound number — here ’s why .

[ h / tReader ’s Digest ]