The Common Thread You Didn't Know Aldi And Trader Joe's Shared

When comparing grocery retailers, it's hard to miss the similarities most share. Big-box stores like Kroger, Food Lion, and Safeway have some quirks but, by and large, share similar store layouts and product rosters. But some couldn't be more different, like Trader Joe's and Aldi. While both offer deals and items you may not find at other grocers, the shopping experience between them is more than a little distinct. 

The free samples and bell ringing that are staple experiences at Trader Joe's are nowhere to be found in Aldi, but you can get milk and eggs well under market value there. At Aldi, the requirement to bag your own buys, the coin system for the carts, and employee uniforms that match the styling of the building scream German efficiency, while TJ's punny products, seafaring decor, tiny parking lot, not to mention the tropical button-downs employees wear, advertise a kind of West-coast friendliness. Despite the wide variance in vibes, these two stores share an interesting connection. 

Both stores are independently operated and always have been, but Aldi has the upper hand where proprietorship is concerned. Does Aldi own Trader Joe's? In a nutshell, they do, but that wouldn't be the whole story. Which Aldi company owns TJ's would be a better question. Many aren't aware that Aldi operates under two entirely separate divisions, and understanding how the relationship between them requires knowing which Aldi rules which roost, so to speak. 

After WWII, two frugally minded German brothers, Karl and Theo Albrecht, ran the grocery store Aldi — a combination of "Albrecht" and "Diskont", which is German for discount — after taking over for their mother. Following years of expanding the company, the brothers ran into trouble around 1961 when they argued over whether or not to sell cigarettes in their stores. Karl opposed selling cigarettes in Aldi because he thought it might attract shoplifters. Theo, on the other hand, disagreed, and the brothers decided to split the company. Karl went on to run Aldi Süd in southern Germany, whereas Theo would manage Aldi Nord in the northern half of the country.

After the brothers passed away, ownership of the company has largely remained under the Albrecht banner, but they have been legally separate companies since 1966. Aldi Nord maintains Aldi stores in Belgium, France, and Spain, among other countries. Aldi Süd, which operates stores in Ireland, the U.K., and China, took an opportunity to expand into the U.S. market in 1976 when the first Aldi in the country opened in Iowa City. While Aldi Nord has no Aldi locations in the U.S. market and never has, the company did find a way to break into the market, not long after its sibling company.

After a decade of running Pronto Markets, entrepreneur Joe Coulombe wanted to create a shopping experience with a different feel from what other grocers were offering. With this vision in mind, he rebranded his store and opened the first Trader Joe's in Pasadena, California in 1967. Twelve years later, Aldi Nord entered the American market by acquiring Trader Joe's, and even allowed Coulombe to continue as CEO until 1988. Though owned by the parent company, TJ's still operates independently from Aldi Nord as a separate division.

Does Aldi own Trader Joe's is a complicated question, but the short answer is yes. The longer version is that only one of the two Aldi companies owns TJ's, and it's not the one that operates the Aldis in the United States. Today, the two Aldi companies cooperate in matters of products sold and the consistency of store layouts. They also work together on the Aldi website, bringing the two separate companies together digitally.