ALDI keeps it cheap so shoppers can, too. How has discount food retailer ALDI Group become one of the world's biggest grocery chains, running more than 10,000 stores worldwide? By offering deeply discounted prices on some 2,000 popular food items (a typical grocery store has 45,000). ALDI (short for "Albrecht Discounts") buys inexpensive land mostly on city outskirts, builds simple warehouses, employs a modest staff, and carries mostly (95%) private-label items, displaying them on pallets rather than shelves. The chain has nearly 1,300 stores in 30-plus US states, but Germany (where ALDI has about 4,300 stores) accounts for about two-thirds of sales. ALDI was co-founded by the late Karl and Theo Albrecht.