Aldi

Aldi takes over 547 branches and three central warehouses of its competitor Groupe Casino in France. This is the largest acquisition in the history of the Aldi Nord group, the German group announced. The food discounter estimated the deal at 717 million euros.

Already in March one had delivered a binding offer, now the competition authorities had finally agreed, Aldi communicated. The integration of the markets should be completed by the end of 2021. Most of the stores have been operated under the Leader Price brand to date. According to its own statements, Aldi Nord intends to use the acquisition to expand its market position in France and consolidate its store network there.

In a statement made this week, Aldi UK has announced the implementation of a traffic light system to control the numbers of customers in its stores. The system is being installed nationwide this week, which also features priority access for health care workers.

With the challenge of controlling the physical distancing rules in German supermarkets, the need for security guards at the doors of local stores has increased. Now, more and more shops are planning on using technologies to regulate the number of persons inside shops. Aldi Süd, Media Markt and Saturn already have announced that they'll make use of people counting systems and virtual "bouncers" in all stores in Germany.