German supermarket chain Aldi to enter China with two physical Shanghai stores
- Fresh fruit and vegetable discount retailer Aldi will debut its first brick and mortar store in China with dual Shanghai openings on June 7
- Privately-owned retailer has been selling online in China since 2017 via retail platform Tmall Global
German discount supermarket chain Aldi will open two pilot stores in China next Friday, reflecting the retailer’s first physical presence in the world’s second-largest economy.
The stores, set to open on June 7, will be in the Jing’an and Minhang districts of Shanghai, making China the 11th country the retailer operates in.
The privately-owned supermarket chain has been selling goods online in China since 2017 via Alibaba’s online retail platform Tmall, and last year launched an online flagship store on the site. Alibaba is the owner the South China Morning Post.
According to retail research firm IDG Asia, Aldi will continue to use online trading to understand local Chinese consumers and test products before launching them in physical stores.
“Our first stores in China needed to be an offering that fits in with Chinese consumers’ behaviour,” Aldi China said in an email. “We also wanted our first stores to be pilot stores - for us to trial and test retail approaches, for us to better understand our customers.”
Aldi will also launch a a programme on Chinese messaging app WeChat, offering products with instant delivery within three kilometres of each store, the company told the Post. Aldi plans to open 50 to 100 physical stores in China in the medium term, and a central warehouse in China, according to IDG.