ITALY: Aldi eyes start in Italy | Progresiv
Aldi trips off the Italian tongue so much more easily than Lidl that one would have thought them on the sunshine peninsula long before their arch-rival. In fact their fellow German discounter ventured across the Alps in 1992 and was joined two years later by Rewe Group subsidiary Penny Market. 
In the 1990's, "sources close to Aldi" revealed that Austrian subsidiary Hofer had indeed taken a long hard look at bella Italia. At the time, however, group head office in Mülheim was said to have been deterred by the complex building regulations governing the numerous centri storici (historical town centres) which delight the world's tourists.
Nonetheless, the secretive retail giant confirmed exclusively to Lebensmittel Zeitung that it is reviewing the dossier.
Aldi is said to be looking to enter Northern Italy first. Unusually in terms of its corporate culture, the privately-owned group, with estimated annual earnings well in excess of €1bn, might also consider a takeover. This would obviously kick-start entry in the game of catch-up with Lidl Italia (570 stores) and Penny Market (310). It would also reduce the rigmarole of labyrinthine planning authorisations for individual sites. (www.german-retail-blog.com)
