The Ultra-Lean Grocer

Buh-bye, Kellogg's Corn Flakes. Cheapskates are flocking to Aldi's no-name products

Aldi stores, like this one in Geneva, Ill., carry only staples like cereal.

Just past noon, Anna Chernova, a 68-year-old retiree, pushes her black metal shopping cart into an Aldi store on Chicago's North Side. After arriving from Russia 16 years ago, Chernova regularly shopped at conventional supermarkets like Dominick's and Jewel-Osco, but no more. "They're too expensive," Chernova says, lengthy shopping list in hand. Now she visits Aldi once a week, drawn by the no-frills chain's $2.69 gallon jugs of milk (compared with $3.99 for a gallon of Dean whole milk at Jewel-Osco) and 33¢ boxes of salt (compared with 79¢ for a similarly sized box of Morton's). "I've got to save my...

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