Aldi = Annoying

greyteam1959 · 29 July 2019 at 2:57PM

Been shopping at Aldi for a couple of years now as it is about 30 - 50 % cheaper than my local Sainsbury's.
However the Missus is getting a bit p*ssed of with their out of stocks.
Own brand moisturising cream not being in stock for about 2 months & NO other brands available.
Frozen Steak & Merlot meat pies 2 in a pack not stock for several months.
Is it just my local Aldi or are they all as bad ??

Browntoa · 29 July 2019 at 3:04PM

Items just vanish from their range on occasion

I'm assuming either lack of sales or change of supplier

spadoosh · 29 July 2019 at 3:15PM

Ours never has the childrens bedtime bath wash.

Packaging seems to change willy nilly. I think ive had their orange cordial in about 4 different types of bottle. The latest has a gold top.

Theyve repackaged rice a few times too. Same supplier info on the packs though.

They dont really do multi line ranges though which is the problem. So if they dont have aldis beans in, they dont have any baked beans in kind of thing.

Part of the pros and cons. Sainburys offer that pro, the con is you pay 30-40% more for your shopping.

Stock up on their single line ranges, especially if you know you use that product.

Personally i find myself getting more and more annoyed at the short shelf life of their fresh vegetables.

[Deleted User] · 29 July 2019 at 3:50PM

I think its a case of you get what you pay for I use Aldi's for some basic bits but I use other supermarkets as well.from Tesco's to W'rose I am loyal to no one If there is a good offer that I think is worth getting then loyalty goes out of the window.

Sometime they just stop stocking stuff for no apparent reason, but so do lots of other shops as well. I think if you can find something you really like its often worth getting a store of it .I enjoy the sweet chilli flavoured rice cakes and the only SM that stock them locally to me is Asdas, so if I am in or near there I will get 3-4 packets and stash them away like a squirrel

But I don't often shop in Asdas.I always check on MySupermarket .com for prices and goods before I do a big shop

njm123 · 29 July 2019 at 4:09PM

Think it's happening more and more at all the supermarkets (I'm well served locally so I visit several fairly regularly).

Last few months I've noticed from my usual shopping routine

Lidl - Own Brand squash always out of stock except a handful of barley water occasionally. Own Brand Condiments like Tartare Sauce have disappeared
Tesco - Cheap plain Yoghurt has gone. Plain Pizza bases have gone.
Aldi - Arborio Rice has gone.
Asda - Large packs of dried pulses from Asian suppliers have gone and reduced range in smaller packs.
Sainsburys - own brand bread has gone - except for in store bakery loaves - which are all white - no wholemeal. Meat range vastly reduced.

I suspect it's a combination of supply problems (shelve space there and empty) and making space for other lines by removing the least profitable lines. The cynic in me notices that it's usually the cheaper options that disappear.

maman · 29 July 2019 at 6:05PM

I've always assumed that Aldi will pull an item if they can't source it cheaply enough. Sometimes the product disappears for ever or sometimes there's a break until a new supplier is found.

But it's not just Aldi. Waitrose were without multi packs of own brand baked beans for 3 weeks. I had the option of buying an alternative in Waitrose at a ridiculous price or going elsewhere. Guess what I did?

VfM4meplse · 29 July 2019 at 6:19PM

However annoying OOS may be, it won't be enough to stop me from buying from either Aldi or Lidl. I find the middle aisles to be a bigger problem; can't help but buying stiff I never knew I needed!

PasturesNew · 29 July 2019 at 6:24PM

They have a much smaller range of products than big name supermarkets. They introduce/remove many, many products to 1/ keep their customers finding new products 2/ to keep testing what sells well 3/ so they've something "new" to promote as the market these days likes to see something "new".

It is annoying.... they all do it though. It's just less noticeable with larger supermarkets as they have many many thousands more products, so you don't notice.

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I find the middle aisles to be a bigger problem; can't help but buying stiff I never knew I needed!

When I go in, I rarely ever go down those aisles, I just sneer at them and think "I don't need/want any of that cr4p" and don't even go there.

worried_jim · 29 July 2019 at 6:31PM

You think it's bad now? Wait till November when you are queuing for bread.

[Deleted User] · 30 July 2019 at 7:04AM

I have noticed a strange thing recently that a good few of the big supermarkets seem to be actually stocking an awful lot less on their shelves. I have a very large Tescos near to me and quite often they have shelves of stuff with perhaps only a line of boxes at the edge and if you buy a product it doesn't take long before there are an awful lot of gaps and empty shelves behind them Now is this a shortage from the manufacturers or are perhaps the stores themselves cost cutting by actully stocking less in the shops.Reminded me at times of years ago when rationing was on and the shop keepers often had lines of empty boxes or a line of single boxes to make the shop looked fully stocked when in fact it really wasn't .Has anyone else noticed it or is it just in my area ?

Cornucopia · 30 July 2019 at 7:34AM

JackieO wrote: »

Has anyone else noticed it or is it just in my area ?

Not noticed that, and I am in the same area.

As for Aldi, yes, this is exactly how they work. They seem to do cut finite-life, price deals with suppliers. Once the deal ends, if they cannot renegotiate at a similar price-point then the item disappears and it can sometimes take a while for it to reappear. When it does come back, the recipe, price, size and/or packaging may well change reflecting either a new deal with the same supplier, or a different supplier.

Both Aldi & Lidl seem to be having supply problems with their own brand standard "squash" drinks. The large 2L bottles disappeared months ago from Lidl, followed later by Aldi. Some Lidl stores have tiny 1L bottles as a replacement, but these are not always available. I quite like both the High-Juice and the Fruit & Barley alternatives, though.

Aldi = Annoying

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