![]() In their semi-retirement the brothers, in the words of Forbes magazine, remained 'more reclusive than the Yeti' - which can be partly attributed to a terrifying ordeal suffered by Theo in 1971. He took charge of the stores in southern Germany (Aldi-Sud) and Theo managed the less profitable northern stores (Aldi-Nord), with the help of his two sons.Īlthough Theo remained involved, like his brother, in the running of the company, a panel of other family members and representatives have helped manage Aldi in recent times. Karl is said to have been worried that the tobacco products would attract shoplifters and so damage profits. The harshness of their childhood, the scrimping and saving that the customers of their mother's shop had to do to get by, made them appreciate the value of money and look for a radical new way of selling goods when they took over the shop after the war. He was captured eventually by the Americans in Tunisia, but both made it back to Germany in 1946. ![]() Karl fought on the Russian front, where he was wounded, and Theo served with Rommel's Afrika Korps, in a supply unit. Their mother set up a small grocery shop in Essen after their father, a miner (and later a baker's assistant), developed the lung condition emphysema.ĭetermined not to follow their classmates into the mines and factories, Karl trained at a delicatessen, while Theo learned the grocery business from their mother.Īt the outbreak of World War II both were conscripted into the Wehrmacht. Theo was born on Maand for him and Karl, the retail trade was in their blood. Rather than waste money on fancy fountain pens, Theo would also take notes at meetings with senior staff using pencil stubs under 2in long.
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