Theo Albrecht, 88, Aldi co-founder
BERLIN - Theo Albrecht, the secretive co-founder of Germany's worldwide discount supermarket chain Aldi, a co-owner of Trader Joe's in the United States and one of Europe's richest men, has died at age 88.
BERLIN - Theo Albrecht, the secretive co-founder of Germany's worldwide discount supermarket chain Aldi, a co-owner of Trader Joe's in the United States and one of Europe's richest men, has died at age 88.
The retail machine that Albrecht built with his brother Karl has won over German consumers with their no-thrills but super-cheap offerings, making billionaires of the two, who expanded stores to France, Spain, Poland and the U.S., among other nations.
The company said he died Saturday in his home city of Essen but gave no cause of death.
Even that bare-bones statement marked unusual openness for a company known for its secrecy.
Albrecht and his elder brother Karl both served in World War II, then returned home and took over their parents' grocery store. By 1950, they were running 13 stores.
The first Aldi stores - an acronym standing for "Albrecht Discount" - opened in the early 1960s under the motto "concentrating on the basics: a limited selection of goods for daily needs."
Aldi now has more than 4,000 outlets in Germany alone, where it is known for its no-frills shopping environment, streamlined processes and a limited range of discount products.
Aldi does not publish sales or profit figures. Aldi Nord says that it employs more than 50,000 people around the world but will not reveal how many stores the company has worldwide. It has about 1,000 in the U.S.
In 1979, a family trust bought the U.S. specialty-grocery chain Trader Joe's.
In keeping with Aldi's culture of secrecy, Trader Joe's refused yesterday to comment on Albrecht or Aldi, even refusing to confirm that the chain is owned by the Albrecht family.
The publicity-shy Albrecht - of whom barely any photos exist - kept a very low profile. In 1971, he was kidnapped in Germany and released after 17 days after paying a ransom of 7 million German marks.
