Before I left the US, it never occurred to me to shop at Aldi. It was simply too discount-y and focused on private brands for me. But Aldi and its doppelgänger who recently entered the US market, Lidl, are pretty big in Europe. That being said, I found myself shopping at these places a few times and they’re not too bad. Of course, around here, I prefer supermarkets with more variety, like French Carrefour and Auchan and the local Spanish chain, Mercadona. But when you’re in a hurry, you can’t be too picky.
It’s also interesting how Aldi and Lidl seem to be in a contusions expansion mode, while other supermarket chains only expand when it makes sense.