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Aldi time in the world
On Saturday, at the head of a three-day weekend, I decided to go to Tullahoma and shop at two of my favorite places, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet and Aldi.
Ollie’s is sort of like Big Lots — only better, friendlier somehow. I think it may be the caricature of the (now-deceased) co-founder and namesake that you see everywhere in the store. And even though the normal prices are already cheap, they sometimes do special events or coupons. Yesterday, I had a 15 percent off coupon that I got in the mail for being part of the “Ollie’s Army” discount card program.
But what I want to write about is Aldi. Some of you already love Aldi; some of you have never set foot in one and don’t really know what it’s all about. My North Carolina brother and sister-in-law do most of their shopping at Aldi.
For those of you who don’t know about Aldi, I’ll explain it. It’s a German chain with a long history. It offers low prices on groceries — but those low prices are achieved through some unique cost-saving measures. Aldi shoppers don’t seem to mind, though, because the store really does pass the savings along in the form of lower prices. I’ll save the best-known quirk, Aldi’s unique way of handling shopping carts, for last.
- Aldi stores are much smaller than Kroger or Walmart or Publix, and have a much more limited selection. There’s a heavy emphasis on…
