The Albrecht brothers took over their mother's small store after fighting in World War II Aldi's origins date back to 1913, when Karl Albrecht Sr., a former coal miner, started trading in baked goods.

Theodor and Karl Albrecht took their mother's thrifty corner store, still standing in Essen, Germany after World War II, and turned it into a low-cost supermarket chain that today spans over a ...