Discount Retail Chain Aldi Italy (German family owned) celebrates its first four years in Italy with a network of 140 stores in 6 regions of Northern Italy (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Emilia-Romagna). Aldi has over 2,400 employees of the company in Italy, with a growth of 20% in 2021 alone.
Aldi's expansion in the area was accompanied by a strong focus on sustainability, making energy efficiency one of the pillars of its strategy for 'environment. In 2021 it inaugurated its first CO2-neutral store in Moniga del Garda (BS), while this year it has achieved a great milestone: the achievement of climate neutrality. This objective is part of the Aldi Sud Group's 2030 "Zero Carbon" international strategy for the reduction of global warming and has become a reality also thanks to the partnership with ClimatePartner, for the implementation of CO2 offsetting projects.
Aldi, part of the Aldi Sud Group, a multinational reality of reference in the large-scale retail trade and one of the most important world operators, celebrates its fourth birthday in Italy. A path of successes built on values such as reliability, convenience, quality, freshness, sustainability and responsibility, which have led the company to become a new point of reference for Italian consumers, for the economy and for employment in the country.
Since its arrival in Italy in 2018, Aldi has offered a new shopping experience designed for the Italian consumer around the promise of the "Aldi Price": the guarantee of the highest quality at the best price, with a compact, yet complete, Made in Italy is attentive to sustainability, to meet every need. 1,800 products, 30 brands, 130 fruit and vegetable references and about 80% of food products of Italian origin: these numbers are the strength of Aldi's success among Italian consumers confirmed by Altroconsumo, which awarded the company as Discount Salvaprezzo in Italy - Cheaper products in 2021 for the fourth consecutive year and Discount Preferred by consumers in 2022.
Since the first inaugurations in March 2018, Aldi has created a network of 140 stores in 6 regions of Northern Italy (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Emilia-Romagna). There are over 2,400 employees of the company in Italy, with a growth of 20% in 2021 alone.
Michael Gscheidlinger, Aldi's country managing director Italy, comments: “These four years have been an exciting journey. Looking back we see important and unexpected challenges and a reality that has presented itself and progressively established itself in Italy. The commitment of our collaborators and the solid relationships we have built with our suppliers are at the heart of our growth. We have decided to enhance the Italian food and wine heritage by making it accessible to all our customers thanks to the convenience of the 'Aldi Price'. Italy is a special country, also due to the commitment on the sustainability front that we are making, to continue to develop responsible services, products, businesses and in support of the communities".
The growth of Aldi in Italy is accompanied by a strong commitment to the development of people: 76% of collaborators are hired for an indefinite period, 57 % have signed up to part-time contracts, female employment has exceeded 64%, with a share of female managers equal to 40%, and 60% of the hires are under the age of 35. Growth in Aldi is guaranteed by ad hoc professional empowerment paths through Aldi Accademia and constant investments in training, with over 67,500 hours provided in 2021. The value positioning that Aldi is progressively conquering on the Italian market is also confirmed by the certification of Most Attractive Employer 2021 by Universum Global, which awarded the company for two consecutive years among the most attractive realities for university students and Italian professionals.
The strong tricolor connotation of the offer represents one of the reasons for Aldi's success in Italy . A conscious choice undertaken from the beginning by establishing long-term collaborations with Italian and regional suppliers, to enhance the excellence of the Italian food and wine heritage. Support for Made in Italy also develops abroad thanks to the push to export in collaboration with Aldi Global Sourcing Italy, the Italian service company that supports all the countries of the Aldi Sud corporate group.
Responsibility and cooperation are the keywords that define Aldi's commitment to local communities . Since its entry into Italy, the company has donated over 1,300 tons of products to the Banco Alimentare Onlus Foundation and donated more than 150,000 euros to the AIRC Foundation in support of medical-scientific research, funding two research grants on breast cancer. These two partnerships were joined in 2022 by the one with the Umberto Veronesi Foundation for the "Io Vivo Sano" educational project aimed at primary and secondary schools of I and II degree with the aim of promoting correct lifestyles among the new generations and promoting responsible health choices.
The vision for sustainability and the milestone reached of called neutrality. Aldi's expansion on the territory was accompanied by a strong focus on sustainability, making energy efficiency one of the pillars of its strategy for the environment. ISO 50001 certified since 2019, the company has installed 87 photovoltaic systems at its points of sale, with an extension of 5.20 football fields, which since 2018 have produced over 7.56 million kWh of energy, avoiding the emission of over 4,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Thanks to the implementation of cutting-edge technologies, such as LED lighting and latest generation refrigerated counters, the company has reduced the energy consumption of its stores by 6.5% since March 2018.
The best practices implemented in recent years have allowed the company to reach a significant milestone in 2021: the opening of the first CO2-neutral store in Moniga del Garda (BS), whose characteristics respond to the new constructive prototype and at the most high level of energy efficiency of the company. The store concept, which has more than 15% lower energy consumption than the average of the other stores, will be replicated in 2022 and 2023 with the opening of other stores with the same characteristics.
See here for more: https://www.fruitbookmagazine.it/aldi-festeggia-i-quattro-anni-in-italia-e-raggiunge-la-neutralita-climatica/
