To be annoyed at Aldi middle aisle

[Itsrainingshessnoring]

I used to love aldis middle aisles full of junk. Went in for toilet roll and came out with ski boots, hockey stick and a violin.

All joking aside I've got some really good deals in the past especially for the children near Christmas.

The last few months have just been a disappointment, one aisle of the good stuff and the rest is just branded food that doesn't appear to be any cheaper then other supermarkets. If I wanted branded food I would go to Tesco.

is it just my local Aldi that this has happened to or are they all like this now??

They sell toys and baby stuff which is actually more than other shops. I bought a mini Thomas the tank engine toy, went round to Sainsburys 3 doors down and it was 50p cheaper! Got some Munchkin spoons and forks found them cheaper in Tesco! I rarely go in now unless I want something specific.

I don't think they do special buys online anymore

My Aldi always has goodies that I can’t resist.
I went last weekend and I bought a pumpkin shaped candle, some baking spatula utensil things, cast iron pot with lid, some sieves and a really nice boucle throw for my niece

Not sure where you are looking, but…..
28th sept
https://www.aldi.co.uk/c/specialbuys/dates/2023-09-28?sort=popular&q=%3Apopular%3AtransactionalStatus%3Atransactional%3AtransactionalStatus%3Anontransactional%3AclassProductType%3ACandles%2C%20Holders%20and%20Lanterns&lowerBound=1&upperBound=40&text=

1st October
https://www.aldi.co.uk/c/specialbuys/dates/2023-10-01?sort=popular&q=%3Apopular%3AtransactionalStatus%3Atransactional%3AtransactionalStatus%3Anontransactional%3AclassProductType%3ACandles%2C%20Holders%20and%20Lanterns&lowerBound=0&upperBound=13&text=

Well that's shit

Looking on the website, where it says buy in store ( not online)

We only go to Lidl to buy their Formil washing powder.

We've given up on Aldi and Lidl.
Both of their middle aisles are stuffed full of absolute shite. And always in an unholy mess.

The only thing that Aldi do well, in their middle aisle , are wooden toys but that's a bit hit and Miss due to availability and, strangely, really battered packaging. It means that giving them as gifts is a no-no.

You just know that much of what lies within the middle aisles will just get dumped. Awful stuff.

My local aldi always has dried out, dead plants outside! I can only assume they don't have a hose, despite it being a fairly new store.

I agree, the central aisles are full of branded foods, but also tat that seems to sit there for weeks! Although lidl have their own tat, it does seem to change weekly, whereas aldi has the same central aisle stuff week on week. Or maybe its just my local?

Talking of a hundred varieties of frozen potatoes (except mash which i want too), aldi do a wee bag of frozen cubed potatoes with veg for roasting eg. Onions, tomatoes and peppers..and its bloody lovely

Maybe it’s because people are cutting their budgets to the bare bones and there’s no more money for things like candles and power tools? I’m just annoyed they seem to have stopped doing their protein powder ☹️.

I haven't noticed it tbh - I picked up a £39.99 heated airer when I went in for milk and nappies last week.

I don't understand it - the middle aisle where we are is quite expensive random tat. I would understand if it were cheap tat. But high vis jackets for £20? Mini macrame kits for £10?

Our local one is full of expensive branded food items you get in the main supermarkets (Tesco, Asda etc), weird flavoured American junk food (again expensive) and expensive home wear items.

Boo!

Aldi/Lidl broken into the UK market 30 years ago as discount retailers. They slowly grew market share against the existing retailers and arguably caused many of them to decline, ASDA being a prime example when they fell from being the golden child of Walmart to now being a debt-laden vehicle.

They are now not too much different than the other supermarkets, but stifled by there smaller stores with a limited range.

I suspect their times of roaring growth are on the wain.

Lidl is quite good

Ours is a complete mess lately. Stock all over the show and no prices. Missing and damaged packaging. Shoes Missing the other half. And yes loads of branded stuff that's really overpriced! I'm not there for branded stuff. Agree on the nice wooden toys though.

Lidl always has really good house plants and the pots are nice. I brought a cute lama pot, plant was dead but I liked the pot it was £2
Got a dog mattress from Aldi today I don't usually look in the middle aisle but sometimes they are good

@Name99 they stopped doing online sales (of specialbuys and wine) back in June I think it was. They said they wanted to focus on opening more physical stores. It’s a shame, as I preferred to shop that way (hate going in to any type of supermarket), but I go to the shop when there’s something specific I really want in the special buys.

I loved buying candles in bulk from the website ( hence me not noticing)
I'm still working through the last lot I bought.

@Name99 I never buy enough, then kick myself when they don’t have the scent I really like for ages🤦‍♀️ I really like the big 4 wick ones, but haven’t been able to restock the one I want for a while.

Yeah I buy my favourites online ( well did)

Ours is usually really good and I’ve had some great little gifts there for Xmas for dd. Love their wooden toys. I’m hoping they bring them back this year as dd wants new dolls house furniture. Our Aldi has 4 middle aisles, 1 is branded stuff, 1 Xmas stuff and the other 2 are toys, baby, kitchen and gardening bits.

Ours is the same I stopped walking down the middle aisles now.

I find Aldi cosmetics (well, moisturiser, their bond-whatsit shampoo) to be very reasonably priced for the quality.. The tools are hit and miss, and the branded stuff seems to often be 'weird' branded stuff (the fake toffee flavoured kelloggs multi-shape things did not go down well for instance)

I'm cross that they haven't had the wagu steaks in that were promised, and I was really hoping to be able to try.. (wagu burgers they had, but they just tasted like a burger)

TBH, once you've been shopping at Lidl for a couple of years, you notice that the middle isle is just the same stuff on rotation most of the time too, so I tend not to bother.

I'd just be happy if I could buy their tins of cat food in jelly. They always seem to be run out no matter if I try first thing in the morning, over lunch time or late evening. There are 3 Aldi stores near where I live and none of them seem to ever have any left. My cats like it and aren't keen on various other ones I've tried to give them. They hate the ones in gravy a lot of shops do.