China has overtaken the U.S. soon as the world’s largest food market. With two branches of Aldi Süd explored for the first time, the mass market: high-Quality Goods, trendy products and ready meals. Is paid mobile.
In China, Aldi presents itself quite differently: There are pork hock with Sauerkraut and fried potatoes, crabs to spicy Sichuan style and a “Berliner Bao”, a combination of German sausage with Sauerkraut in a Chinese steam noodles.
In addition to such a typical, ready-made meals, the first two stores of the German retailer in Shanghai offering high-quality imported goods such as beef and milk from Australia, wine from Bordeaux, organic, or trendy craft beer from nearby Hangzhou. The two branches of Aldi Süd opened on Friday morning in the Jing’an sports shopping Mall in Jing’an district, as well as in the Gumei Life Shopping Plaza in Minhang district of your doors. The opening day was the dragon boat festival is a holiday that heralds the coming of a long weekend of Shopping, as stores in China, with the exception of the Chinese new year festival – open seven days a week.
Bordeaux and pork: Aldi in China
Aldis audience in China of the affluent middle class, which is just the 30 million people in the Metropolitan count area of the East China port city. While Aldi Süd already sold since 2017 online via the trading platform Tmall in China, wants to test the mülheim-based group of companies with two stores now, the stationary business, in order to understand the Chinese consumer better. In the medium term, in the long term, even 50 to 100 are to be built in China, according to unconfirmed Reports ten stores.
“Not without risk”
The potential is huge. China is likely to have replaced according to the expectations of the market researchers at IDG in four years, the United States as the largest grocery market. “The opportunities for Aldi, to be present on this market are therefore important,” said Nick Miles, IDG-chief of the Asia-Pacific region. “But it will not be without risk.”
The market is considered difficult for foreign traders. Aldis German competitor Lidl has withdrawn quietly from the Online business in China. The Spanish Discounter Dia has sold in 2018 after 15 years in China for its 450 stores in the Chinese Suning group, because the losses were too big. Also, the British retailer Tesco failed in China in 2014.
Aldi, which operates in eleven countries with 6240 branches active, continues in China on a special strategy: Not a cheap product, but to selected, higher-quality products. The quality should be guaranteed, because the Chinese customer has already experienced some of the food scandal. “In the past, the Chinese customer is the price,” says Liu Shengjun, Vice-President of the China-Europe Business School in Beijing. “In the recent time you devote but the quality and safety of the products more attention.”
“The Chinese market is big enough”, – the expert believes. “Yes, it is possible to be successful here.” But according to the traditional German model will not succeed. “You have to the market and the behavior of the customers know.” While customers in Germany and Europe to the big shopping at Aldi and the car with a full pack, the customers in the densely populated metropolises of China more often to shop and buy smaller quantities.
Experience-Shopping and E-Commerce
Also, the Online market in China is growing tremendously – in competition with the traditional business. “How can I be sure that the products in the Store are different than those that run online?”, Liu Shengjun said. “This is a special challenge.” There are also opposite developments: As the Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is trying, of all things, just be Online to combine Shopping with a stationary business.
Unlike in Germany: Aldi in China
At Aldi, customers can also order a mini-program in the in China, widespread, all-purpose WeChat App online in the Store and will be supplied within a radius of three miles immediately. In business, the customer can pay, of course, with the in China very popular WeChat or Ali – Pay on your phone on mobile devices or self-scanning, without the need for a long time at the checkout stand.
Localization is the magic word. “Mobile payment systems are developed in China more than in Europe,” said Li Chengdong, E-Commerce Analyst. “Customers also prefer good looking and beautiful decorated shops to easier floor planning.” So the Aldi to offer-shops in Shanghai, for a special Shopping experience.
With cheap products, Aldi can have very little success, as these are easily in Chinese stores, said the expert. As a German brand Aldi could put on a competitive advantage: “the Chinese feel that the Germans and Western brands as quality products,” says Li Cheng Dong. “There are a lot of Goods as “luxury products” and price are also classified so. It has psychological reasons.”