Aldi

Aldi approached groceries like an engineer. Competitors stocked forty thousand items. Aldi asked why. Each item required decisions. Most items sold in tiny volumes. Aldi stocked one thousand five hundred items, keeping bestsellers. The store became relentlessly focused on velocity. Simplicity became the operational advantage. Focus beat selection. Cost elimination became obsessive. No music played. No decorations. Carts required a quarter deposit. This eliminated collection jobs. Ninety percent of products carried Aldi's private label. Private margins exceeded name brands by twenty percent. Every foot generated revenue. Customers appreciated cost focus. They didn't resent the bareness or simplicity. Aldi passed savings to customers through lower prices.