奧樂齊緣何成為美國發展最快的超市 | 華爾街日報 經濟學視角Why Aldi Is America's Fastest Growing Grocery Store | Wsj The Economics OfAldi作為美國發展最快的雜貨店，憑藉極簡營運模式脫穎而出。12000平方英呎的小巧店面、僅1600種核心商品、無額外服務的精簡設定，再加上90%的自有品牌，大幅壓縮成本。經濟下行期它逆勢增長，既滿足追求低價的消費者，也吸引注重便捷的人群，以高效與高性價比重塑雜貨零售市場格局。As America’s fastest-growing grocery store, Aldi stands out with its no-frills operational model. Boasting 12,000-square-foot compact stores, only 1,600 core products, a streamlined setup without extra services, and 90% private-label items, it slashes costs significantly. Thriving during economic downturns, it caters to both bargain hunters and convenience seekers, reshaping the grocery retail landscape with efficiency and high cost-performance.This half gallon of whole milk from Aldi costs $2.18 cents, eggs 1.87, bread 1.29. Aldi is the fastest-growing grocer by store count in the country, and its no-frills approach has also made it one of the cheapest. For the past decade, it's been growing at a rate of about 100 stores per year. And when an economic downturn hits, it thrives. It's about simplicity, and it's about efficiency, and it's about a consistent experience all the time. This is "The Economics of Aldi."奧樂齊（Aldi）的半加侖全脂牛奶售價2.18美元，雞蛋1.87美元，面包1.29美元。它已成為美國門店數量增長最快的食品雜貨商，其極簡的經營方式也使其成為最便宜的商店之一。在過去十年中，它一直以每年約100家新店的速度增長。當經濟衰退來襲時，它反而蓬勃發展。其關鍵在於簡約、高效以及始終如一的購物體驗。這就是“奧樂齊的經濟學”。So how does the company keep its prices so low? Take its store set up. You walk in, and the moment you step foot in our store, you can see all four walls. Aldi's are typically around 12,000 square feet, about the same as a Trader Joe's, and much smaller than the average supermarket. Operating a smaller space saves money when buying the property on the lease and on utilities. The layout at Aldi is as much designed for our operational efficiency as anything. And so being very specific about the amount of footsteps it takes to service our store and a very limited store size allows us to operate a very efficient operation, and that creates a lot of value.那麼，該公司是如何將價格保持在如此低的水平呢？以門店設定為例。當你走進店裡，從踏入門的那一刻起，就能看到所有四面牆壁。奧樂齊的門店通常約為12,000平方英呎，與Trader Joe's差不多，但比普通超市小得多。經營較小的空間，在購置或租賃房產以及水電費方面都能節省成本。奧樂齊的佈局設計在很大程度上是為了我們的營運效率。非常精確地控制員工在店內服務所需的步數，以及非常有限的門店面積，使我們能夠以非常高效的方式營運，這創造了巨大的價值。To further its efficiency, Aldi doesn't have extra services like a customer help desk, a fresh bakery, or butcher, and its stocks significantly fewer products. Supermarkets typically carry around 31,000 products. Trader Joe's has about 4,000, but Aldi stocks about 1,600. Often, there are just three to five employees on the sales floor, so having fewer items and leaving them in the boxes they were delivered in means employees spend less time stocking shelves.為了進一步提高效率，奧樂齊不提供客戶服務台、新鮮烘焙坊或肉鋪等額外服務，並且其庫存商品種類也少得多。超市通常銷售約31,000種商品。Trader Joe's約有4,000種，而奧樂齊僅庫存約1,600種。通常，銷售區只有三到五名員工，因此商品種類更少，並且將商品保留在送貨時的原包裝箱中，意味著員工花在貨架補貨上的時間更少。These cost-cutting strategies are critical to Aldi's profit margin, and they're why the company is able to offer items that are cheaper than the national average, but they also serve another purpose. They help maintain Aldi's image as a discount store. Customers make compensatory inferences. Basically, marketing experts say "When people see an item's price, they quickly make assumptions about the product. If it's cheap, they may assume it's lower quality, which is why Aldi's no frills strategy is so effective."這些成本削減策略對奧樂齊的利潤率至關重要，也是該公司能夠提供低於全國平均價格商品的原因，但它們還有另一個作用。它們有助於維持奧樂齊作為折扣店的形象。顧客會做出補償性推斷。基本上，行銷專家表示：“當人們看到商品價格時，他們會迅速對產品做出假設。如果價格便宜，他們可能會認為質量較低，這就是為什麼奧樂齊的極簡策略如此有效。”From the moment customers put quarters in their carts and walk into the store, they can see all the ways Aldi reduces costs. Marketing experts say, "These tactics all signal to the customer that milk, eggs, and bread are cheaper at Aldi because of its efficiency rather than its quality, though, the results of its cost-cutting strategies aren't always popular with customers. In a survey of roughly 6,500 people, Aldi scored on par with, or slightly lower than many of its peers in categories like store cleanliness and item availability.從顧客將25美分硬幣投入購物車並走進商店的那一刻起，他們就能看到奧樂齊降低成本的所有方式。行銷專家表示：“這些策略都向顧客表明，奧樂齊的牛奶、雞蛋和面包更便宜是因為其效率，而不是因為質量。然而，其成本削減策略的結果並不總是受顧客歡迎。在一項針對大約6,500人的調查中，奧樂齊在店面清潔度和商品供應情況等類別上的得分與許多同行持平或略低。But there's another key tactic grocers use to aid their low-cost images, Known Value Items. These are staple household products whose prices people often remember. As Aldi has expanded across the country, other grocers have reduced their prices in response, particularly on these types of items. When Aldi comes in, it prompts other retailers to look at their prices again and kind of, you know, surgically examine how to adjust what they sell and for how much.但雜貨商還有另一個關鍵策略來輔助其低價形象，即“價格熟知商品”。這些是人們通常記得價格的家庭必備品。隨著奧樂齊在全國擴張，其他雜貨商也相應降低了價格，尤其是這類商品。當奧樂齊進入市場時，會促使其他零售商重新審視自己的價格，並進行一番精準的審視，以調整他們所售商品及其定價。That's because when people see lower prices for staple goods, they infer that the business offers low prices all around. And when it comes to value for dollar, Aldi ranked highest in the customer survey at 96%, but stores can only compete on price so much without hurting their profit margins. So what does Aldi use other than price point to draw on customers? It's private label items. 90% of Aldi's stock is private label, like its other strategies, this reduces costs for the company.這是因為當人們看到主食商品價格較低時，他們會推斷該商家在所有商品上都提供低價。在“物有所值”方面，奧樂齊在顧客調查中以96%的比例排名最高，但商店只能在價格上競爭到一定程度，否則會損害其利潤率。那麼，除了價格點之外，奧樂齊還用什麼來吸引顧客呢？那就是自有品牌商品。奧樂齊90%的庫存是自有品牌商品，與其其他策略一樣，這降低了公司的成本。We take all of our buying power and we put it into the seven most popular or common salad dressings that a customer might buy. That allows us to deal directly with manufacturers and make sure that we get the best cost price. Analysts say that, Trader Joe's uses private-label items to differ from competitors by creating items that customers can only find there, like its Ube Mochi Pancake Mix, and Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese. But at Aldi, you'll find private-label items that look quite similar to the most well-known national brands. Instead of Wheat Thins, Aldi has Thin Wheat.我們將所有的購買力集中投入到顧客可能購買的七種最受歡迎或最常見的沙拉醬上。這使我們能夠直接與製造商打交道，並確保獲得最優的成本價。分析師表示，Trader Joe's利用自有品牌商品，通過創造顧客只能在那裡找到的商品（如其Ube Mochi Pancake Mix和Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese）來區別於競爭對手。但在奧樂齊，你會發現與最知名的全國性品牌外觀非常相似的自有品牌商品。例如，沒有Wheat Thins，奧樂齊有Thin Wheat。According to analysts, "This is because Aldi wants customers to think they're essentially getting the same product, but at a significant discount." There was a time when the perception was, you know, they're a generic brand and, you know, they're just cheaper, but not as good as the national brands, and those days are over.分析師指出：“這是因為奧樂齊希望顧客認為他們基本上得到的是同樣的產品，但折扣很大。”曾幾何時，人們的看法是，它們是普通品牌，只是更便宜，但不如全國性品牌好，但那種日子已經過去了。As consumers felt the lasting impacts of inflation sales of store brand products increased. From 2018 to 2022, there was a 34% increase in industry-wide private label sales, totaling more than $57 billion. While some other grocers might have private label offerings, this is the existence of what we do.隨著消費者感受到通貨膨脹的持續影響，商店品牌產品的銷售額有所增加。從2018年到2022年，全行業的自有品牌銷售額增長了34%，總計超過570億美元。雖然其他一些雜貨商可能也提供自有品牌商品，但這是我們所做一切的核心。Aldi has thrived during recessions. The 2008 Financial Crisis sparked its growth and decision to add around 100 new stores per year. What was really interesting is we never lost any of those customers, and as the economy improved and we had a really long run of economic improvement, Aldi grew throughout that entire period of time. And now as inflation drains American's wallets, Aldi continues to grow.奧樂齊在經濟衰退期間蓬勃發展。2008年的金融危機促使其增長，並決定每年新增約100家門店。真正有趣的是，我們從未失去任何那些顧客，而且隨著經濟改善以及經歷了相當長的經濟改善期，奧樂齊在整個時期內都在增長。現在，隨著通貨膨脹掏空美國人的錢包，奧樂齊繼續在增長。In the beginning, that was sort of their target audience, people who, you know, wanted bargains, and wanted to buy food for low prices. But in recent years, I think they've really expanded that audience to also go after people who want convenient shopping, who want the necessities, and wanna be in and out of stores.■起初，這多少是他們的目標受眾，即那些想要買到划算商品、想以便宜價格購買食品的人。但近年來，我認為他們確實擴大了受眾範圍，也開始吸引那些追求購物便利、只想購買必需品、並希望快速進出商店的人。 (英語學人)