“Aldi Aisle of Shame”. This is the name of an American Facebook group, whose main purpose is to make fun of the first-price supermarket chain. A real internet phenomenon, it brings together a hundred thousand users. These Internet users have even developed a recognition signal, to say the least comical: a human croak, which is then echoed by other “coa! coa!” from the aisles of the store.
The name of the group finds its origin in the iconic design of the shelves of the store, organized around a central and main aisle, where the products in limited editions are piled up, to say the least strange… According to korii, there were, for example, in 2001, pizzas in the shape of a Christmas tree, or even a scented candle with a “checkered shirt” scent. The alley has been hilariously renamed by this community, who have therefore named it the “ray of shame”.
Indeed, the name given to this alley is intended to be ironic. A simple glance at the Facebook group bears witness to this. Consumers sell their craziest finds there, exchange advice and tips related to the products. The apology of consumerism at its height, therefore. Indeed, the queues in front of ALDI subsidiaries on the days when certain particularly sought-after products go on sale can be very long.
Unlike the days when the latest smartphone goes on sale or even certain limited and highly coveted clothes, buyers will not pay astronomical sums to acquire the object of their desire. The German hard-discount chain maintains very low costs on all of its products, which are mostly private label. A strategy that goes hand in hand with controversies over the working conditions of employees, and the application of brutal management techniques.
