[Annotated] Aldi and Lidl grow despite ignoring the internet

It hasn't stopped the discount grocers^[각주:1] from thriving^[각주:2]

The aisles^[각주:3] are wide, the lights bright and shelves^[각주:4] low. Most obviously, however, the apples shine and the broccoli beckons^[각주:5]. For those used to the cramped^[각주:6], dimly lit^[각주:7] Aldi stores of yore^[각주:8], all expense spared^[각주:9], the new supermarket in Herten, Germany, is almost shocking. 

Opened in April this is the prototype for a vast new renovation and expansion programme across Europe, Britain and America. It is the discount giant's big bet on the future of shopping, all the more^[각주:10] daring as^[각주:11] the money is going almost entirely on bricks and mortar^[각주:12]. Defying^[각주:13] the conventional wisdom that^[각주:14] customers want both in-store^[각주:15] and online shopping ("omnichannel^[각주:16]" in the jargon^[각주:17]) Aldi wants to conquer the retail world by ignoring the internet. As too, to a lesser extent^[각주:18], does its great German rival^[각주:19] Lidl. Plenty of other grocers reckon^[각주:20] this may be the miscalculation that^[각주:21] eventually brings them down^[각주:22].

Founded in 1945 and 1973 respectively^[각주:23], Aldi (split into^[각주:24] two legally separate companies, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd) and Lidl have been eating up the competition^[각주:25], especially since the financial crash of^[각주:26] 2008. In the cut-throat British market^[각주:27], Aldi (owned by Süe) increased its groceries^[각주:28] from 4.6% to 5.2%. At home in Germany, Aldi Nord's market share^[각주:29] has reached 12.9%, and Lidl's 8.9%.

However, Aldi acknowledges that it must change to keep growing at this pace^[각주:30]. Kay Rueschoff, Aldi Nord's director of^[각주:31] marketing, are no longer enough. To lure middle-class shoppers, Aldi has to focus on quality, too - hence^[각주:32] the shiny store in Herten. In all^[각주:33], Aldi Nord is spending €5.2bn ($6.1bn) on revamping its 4,800 stores in^[각주:34] Europe (excluding Britain and Ireland) and opening hundreds of new ones. Besides ambient interiors^[각주:35], there is more fruit, veg^[각주:36] and wine. 

In Britain, Aldi Süd is unveiling^[각주:37] about 70 new stores a year, often in impeccably^[각주:38] middle-class areas that were once the preserve of^[각주:39] posher^[각주:40] British rivals such as Sainsbury's. Aldi plans to open 900 swanky^[각주:41] new stores in America, putting it third in the country by store count, behind Walmart and Kroger. (Lidl has just begun operating in America, and aims to have 100 stores within the year.)

Mr Rueschoff bristles at^[각주:42] any suggestion that Aldi is changing too much. The new stores till sell only about 1,400 items, as opposed to^[각주:43] the 50,000 or so on^[각주:44] many rival's shelves, enabling big economies of scale^[각주:45]. At Lidl, a new generation of senior managers last year began to upgrade their stores in a similar way. They resigned in February after their effort to expand Lidl's small online offering^[각주:46] was deemed^[각주:47] too radical a departure from^[각주:48] the discounter's^[각주:49] original, tight-fisted^[각주:50] formula^[각주:51]. But the idea that opening revamped stores^[각주:52] as rapidly as possible is the best way to win market share, as well as make money, remains. 

The discounters reason that whereas their conventional rivals, such as Sainsbury's, might be able to win some customers online, they will not make much money out of it. Take Britain, one of the most advanced places^[각주:53] in the world for e-commerce^[각주:54]. Britons buy 7.3% of their groceries online, up from 6.7% a year ago, second only to South Koreans. Tesco, Sainsbury's and others have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on sophisticated internet operations. Yet, as Bryan Roberts, an analyst at TCC Global, a consultancy, argues, these stores are merely "cannibalizing themselves^[각주:55]", driving most of their shoppers from their most profitable channel^[각주:56] (the store) to the least profitable (online). 

Operating margins in^[각주:57] the supermarket business are notoriously low^[각주:58], but even lower online, says Mr Roberts - about 3% versus^[각주:59] 0.5% or less. Fleets of vans and drivers are expensive, but, argues Walter Blackwood, a consultant, supermarkets dare not charge cost price (or more) for the service as customers expect it to be virtually free^[각주:60]. He attributes this in part to^[각주:61] the baleful effect of^[각주:62] the online behemoth^[각주:63] Amazon, which does not seek to^[각주:64] profit from^[각주:65] the actual delivery of goods, thus^[각주:66] creating the conviction that^[각주:67] deliveries should be free. Customers expect the same from everybody else. 

For the moment, Aldi's decision to spend its money on physical stores is working. In less developed e-commerce markets, like America, they may have even more of an advantage^[각주:68]. But the proportion of^[각주:69] people shopping online can only go one way, so the strategy carries risks. Supermarkets are learning to make online sales more profitable, through "click and collect" schemes, for example, or raising the minimum transaction value for^[각주:70] deliveries. A decisive clash of^[각주:71] competing retail philosophies^[각주:72] looms^[각주:73]. To the victor^[각주:74], arugula^[각주:75]. To the loser, turnips^[각주:76]. 

1. grocer ; 1. 식료품 잡화상(그 주인이나 직원) ;; 2. (pl. gro・cers) gro・cer’s 식료품 잡화점 [본문으로]
2. thriving ; [형용사] 1. 번성[번영]하는, 번화한; 성대한 ;; 2. <동식물이> 잘 자라는, 무성한 [본문으로]
3. aisle ; [명사] 통로 참고 gangway roll v. ;; 미국∙영국 [aɪl] [본문으로]
4. shelf ; (pl. shelves / Selvz /), (참고: shelve) 1. 선반, 시렁; 책꽂이, (책장의) 칸 [본문으로]
5. beckon ; 1. ~ to sb (to do sth) (오라고) 손짓하다, (손짓으로) 부르다 ;; 2. 아주 매력적으로 보이다, 유혹의 손짓을 하다 [본문으로]
6. cramped ; 1. (방 등이) 비좁은 [본문으로]
7. dimly lit ; 불빛이 어둑한, 어스레한, 우중충한, 침침한 [본문으로]
8. of yore ; 옛날, 옛적 ;; yore ; [U] (고어) 옛날 [본문으로]
9. spare ; 4. NO EFFORT/EXPENSE, etc. | [타동사][VN] (부정어와 함께 쓰여 노력・경비 등을) 아끼다 [본문으로]
10. all the more ; 1. (《형용사·부사의 비교급과 함께》) 그만큼, 더욱더, 오히려 [본문으로]
11. daring ; [형용사] 대담한; 위험한 [본문으로]
12. bricks and mortar ; [명사] 1. (재래식의) 소매(小賣) (거래); 오프라인 거래; 제조업, 굴뚝 산업. ;; [형용사] [형용사] (신조어) 실제로 매장이 존재하는 (오프라인의) (온라인 가상 매장의 반대 개념) [본문으로]
13. defy ; (de・fies , defy・ing , de・fied , de・fied), [vn] 1. (권위・법률・규칙 등에) 반항[저항/거역]하다 [본문으로]
14. conventional[received] wisdom ; (대부분의 사람들이 가지고 있는) 사회적[일반적] 통념 [본문으로]
15. in-store ; [형용사] (명사 앞에만 씀) (백화점・슈퍼마켓 등) 매장 내의 [본문으로]
16. omni-channel ; 소비자가 온라인, 오프라인, 모바일 등 다양한 경로를 넘나들며 상품을 검색하고 구매할 수 있도록 한 서비스. 각 유통 채널의 특성을 결합해 어떤 채널에서든 같은 매장을 이용하는 것처럼 느낄 수 있도록 한 쇼핑 환경을 말한다. 백화점 온라인몰에서 구입한 상품을 백화점 오프라인 매장에서 찾는 ‘스마트픽’이 옴니채널의 대표적인 방식이다. [본문으로]
17. jargon ; [U] (흔히 못마땅함) (특정 분야의 전문・특수) 용어 [본문으로]
18. extent ; [sing., U] 1. (크기・중요성・심각성 등의) 정도[규모] ;; 2. (어떤 지역의) 크기[규모] [본문으로]
19. rival ; [타동사][VN] (-ll- , 美 또한 -l-) ~ sb/sth (for/in sth) (…에) 필적하다[비할 만하다] ;; 참고 ; unrivalled [본문으로]
20. reckon ; 1. (비격식 특히 英) (…라고) 생각하다 [본문으로]
21. miscalculation ; [명사] 계산 착오, 잘못 계산[판단]함, 오산. [본문으로]
22. bring sb down ; ~를 실각[패배]시키다, 내리다, 떨어뜨리다; 파멸[도산]시키다, 붕괴시키다; 콧대를 꺾다. [본문으로]
23. respectively ; [부사] 각자, 각각, 제각기 [본문으로]
24. split into ; ~로 갈리다, 분리되다, 나뉘다 [본문으로]
25. eat up the competition ; 흐름상 "경쟁업체들과의 경쟁에서 이기다" 정도의 의미 [본문으로]
26. crash ; 3. IN FINANCE/BUSINESS | (가격・가치의) 폭락[붕괴]; (사업) 실패, 도산 [본문으로]
27. cut-throat ; [형용사] (주로 명사 앞에 씀) 활동이 경쟁이 치열한, 먹느냐 먹히느냐의 [본문으로]
28. groceries ; [명사] 식료품류 [본문으로]
29. market share ; [U , sing.] (상업) 시장 점유율 [본문으로]
30. at pace ; When doing a task at a certain pace. [본문으로]
31. director ; 2. (활동・부서 등의) 책임자[관리자/지휘자/감독] [본문으로]
32. hence ; [부사] (격식) 이런 이유로 [본문으로]
33. in all ; 총[모두 합쳐] [본문으로]
34. revamp ; [타동사][VN] (보통 더 보기 좋도록) 개조[수리]하다 [본문으로]
35. ambient ; 2. (특히 음악・조명 등이) 잔잔한, 은은한 [본문으로]
36. veg ; [U , C] (pl. veg) (英 비격식) 채소, 야채 [본문으로]
37. unveil ; 2. (새로운 계획・상품 등을) 발표하다 [본문으로]
38. impeccably ; [부사] 완벽하게, 나무랄 데 없이 [본문으로]
39. preserve ; 1. [sing.] ~ (of sb) 전유물 [본문으로]
40. posh ; (posh・er , posh・est), (비격식) 1. (값 비싸고) 우아한, 화려한 ;; 2. (英 때로 못마땅함) 상류층의, 상류층 특유의 [본문으로]
41. swanky ; [형용사] (swank 특히 美) swank・ier , swanki・est (비격식 호감) 호화로운 [본문으로]
42. bristle at ; …에 발끈하다. [본문으로]
43. as opposed to ; (격식) …와는 대조적으로; …이 아니라 [본문으로]
44. or so ; …쯤[정도], (수량을 나타내는 말 뒤에 쓰여) …가량[정도/쯤] ;; used after a number, an amount, etc. to show that it is not exact [본문으로]
45. economies of scale ; (경제) 규모의 경제 ((생산 요소 투입량의 증대에 따른 생산비 절약 또는 수익 향상)), 대량 생산에 의한 원가 절감, 스케일 메리트 [본문으로]
46. offering ; (참고: burnt offering , peace offering) 1. (사람들이 사용하거나 즐기도록) 제공된[내놓은] 것 [본문으로]
47. deem ; [동사] (보통 진행형으로는 쓰이지 않음) (격식) (…로) 여기다[생각하다] [본문으로]
48. a departure from ; …에서의 출발, ~으로부터의 일탈 [본문으로]
49. discounter ; [명사] (또한 |discount store) (흔히 한정된 물품을 대규모로 파는) 할인점 [본문으로]
50. tight-fisted ; [형용사] (돈에) 인색한, 구두쇠의 [본문으로]
51. formula ; 3. [C] ~ (for sth/for doing sth) (특정한 일을 이루기 위한) 공식[방식] [본문으로]
52. revamp ; [타동사][VN] (보통 더 보기 좋도록) 개조[수리]하다 [본문으로]
53. advanced ; 1. 선진의 [본문으로]
54. e-commerce ; [명사] (신조어) 전자상거래. 제품이나 서비스의 온라인 매매 [본문으로]
55. cannibalize ; [vn] 1. (다른 기계・차량에서) 부품을 재사용하기 위해 떼어내다 ;; 2. (상업) (회사가) (비슷한 신상품 도입으로) 자사품의 매출 감소를 가져오다 [본문으로]
56. channel ; 3. FOR COMMUNICATING | [C] (chan・nels [pl.]) (의사소통) 경로[수단]; (물품) 유통 체계[수단] [본문으로]
57. operating margin ; [명사] 영업 마진 ;; Operating margin is a margin ratio used to measure a company's pricing strategy and operating efficiency. Operating margin is a measurement of what proportion of a company's revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. It can be calculated by dividing a company’s operating income (also known as "operating profit") during a given period by its net sales during the same period. “Operating income” here refers to the profit that a company retains after removing operating expenses (such as cost of goods sold and wages) and depreciation. “Net sales” here refers to the total value of sales minus the value of returned goods, allowances for damaged and missing goods, and discount sales. [본문으로]
58. notoriously ; [부사] 악명 높게; 주지의 사실로서 [본문으로]
59. versus ; 2. …에 비해[…와 대조적으로] [본문으로]
60. virtually ; 1. 사실상, 거의 [본문으로]
61. attribute ; [vn] 1. ~ sth to sth (~을 …의) 결과로[덕분으로] 보다 ;; 2. ~ sth (to sb) (특히 말・글・그림 등을) …것[탓/책임]이라고 보다[말하다] [본문으로]
62. baleful ; [형용사] (문예체) 악의적인, 해로운 ;; 미국·영국 [|beɪlfl] [본문으로]
63. behemoth ; [명사] (격식) 거대 기업[조직체] ;; 미국식 [bɪ|hi:mɔ:θ] 영국식 [bɪ|hi:mɒθ;|bi:hɪmɒθ] [본문으로]
64. seek to do ; ~하도록 시도, 추구하다 [본문으로]
65. profit from ; …로부터 이익을 얻다. [본문으로]
66. thus ; (격식), (참고: far adv.) 1. 이렇게 하여; 이와 같이 ;; 2. 따라서, 그러므로 [본문으로]
67. conviction ; 2. [C , U] ~ (that…) (강한) 신념[의견] ;; 3. [U] 확신 [본문으로]
68. more of ; 오히려 … [본문으로]
69. proportion ; 1. PART OF WHOLE | [C+sing./pl. v.] (전체의) 부분, (전체에서 차지하는) 비율 ;; 2. RELATIONSHIP | [U] ~ (of sth to sth) (다른 것과 규모・양 등을 대조한) 비[비율] [본문으로]
70. transaction value ; (지식경제용어) 거래가격 [본문으로]
71. clash ; 2. ARGUMENT | ~ (with sb) (over sth) | ~ (between A and B) (over sth) (의견 차이 등에 의한) 충돌, 언쟁 ;; 3. DIFFERENCE | (대립되는 두 가지 사이의) 충돌[차이] [본문으로]
72. philosophy ; 2. [C] (세계나 인생에 대한 신념 체계로서의) 철학 ;; 3. [C] (개인의 세계관・인생관을 담은) 철학 [본문으로]
73. loom ; [v] 1. (특히 무섭게) 어렴풋이[흐릿하게] 보이다[나타나다] ;; 2. (중요하거나 위협적인 일이) 곧 닥칠 것처럼 보이다 [본문으로]
74. victor ; [명사] (문예체) 승리자 [본문으로]
75. arugula ; [명사] [식물] 아루굴라 ((지중해산(産) 에루카속(屬) 일년초(rocket); 샐러드용)) ;; 미국식 [ərú:ɡələ] [본문으로]
76. turnip ; [C , U] 1. 순무 ;; 2. (스코틀랜드 영어) ;; 동의어 ; swede [본문으로]