Karl and Theo Albrecht
Karl (Essen, Rhine Province, 1920-Essen, 2014) and Theo Albrecht (1922-2010), were German businessmen, founders and owners of the chain of Aldi discount supermarkets. After the end of World War II, the two took over the family store. In 1962 they opened the first store called Albrecht-Discount. Soon they were getting customers through low prices that they managed to save on superfluous expenses such as decoration, advertising, etc.
In 2009, the Albrecht brothers were among the top ten people in Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's wealthiest individuals.
Biography
His father was first a miner until he damaged his lung from continually breathing coal, which led him to become a baker and clerk's clerk, and his mother worked in Schonnebeck as a clerk in a grocery store.
Before World War II, Karl began working in a deli shop, while Theo began learning the business at the store where his mother worked. Both were enlisted during the war; Theo fought in the Afrika Korps', while Karl was sent to the Wehrmacht.
Theo Albrecht passed away in 2010 at the age of 88. Karl died on July 16, 2014 at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was, according to Forbes magazine, the richest man in Germany.
Kidnapping Theo
In 1971, Theo Albrecht was kidnapped for 17 days. He was paid a ransom of seven million German marks (approximately US$2 million at the time) for his release. He was held at gunpoint by Heinz-Joachim Ollenburg, a lawyer, and his accomplice, Paul Kron. The ransom sum was delivered by the Bishop of Essen. His kidnappers were eventually caught by the authorities, but only half of the money was recovered. Theo later claimed the ransom as a tax-deductible business expense in court.
Professional career
The origins of the current company date back to 1913, when Anna Siepmann opened a small overseas shop in Essen, Germany. Years later her children Karl (1920-2014) and Theo Albrecht (1922-2010) worked with her. At the end of World War II they took the reins of the business, reverted to “Albrecht Lebensmittel».
After the war, the Albrecht brothers expanded throughout the Ruhr basin with a model that laid the foundations of the current discount stores. While the food business of the time — mostly cooperatives — fixed normal prices and then applied discounts through coupons or special promotions, the Albrecht stores made direct discounts at the price of all items, with fewer brands and more product rotation. They also cut off on advertising expenses, for sale of fresh products and maintenance costs when renting small enclosures. This low-price model was successful: in 1950 they had 13 premises and a decade later they had exceeded 300 establishments throughout Federal Germany.
In 1962, the brand “Aldi” was established. Albrecht-Diskont) and the company was divided into two subsidiaries that distributed the market: Theo stayed with "Aldi Nord", based in Essen and operative in northern Germany, while Karl maintained "Aldi Süd", based in Mülheim an der Ruhr and operating in the south of the country. The reasons for separation are unknown, although the most widespread version is that Albrecht brothers did not agree on the sale of cigarettes. Despite this division, legally established in 1966, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd operate de facto like the same company and there are hardly any differences, except in the offers they apply.
Legal separation has also occurred in international expansion. In 1967 Aldi Süd acquired a franchise of shops in Austria, while Aldi Nord waited until 1973 to open his first foreign location in the Netherlands. In Spain, the Aldi franchise is legally owned by Aldi Nord.
In November 1971 the founder of ALDI in Essen, Theo Albrecht, was kidnapped. After 17 days in captivity he paid a ransom of 7 million German marks and was released. Today half of that money has not been found.
Since 1973, the Aldi group was under the control of a private foundation, Siepmann-Stiftung, created by Karl Albrecht to safeguard family interests. Thanks to the German reunification, Aldi became the leading retail company in Germany with more than 4,000 locals, most of Aldi Nord. Similarly, the brothers Karl and Theo retired in 1993 as the country's greatest fortunes.