In Berlin’s city centre, Aldi Nord has opened a very special store: ‘Checkpoint Aldi’ sells exclusive merchandise from the hard-discounter and aims to be a magnet for the true Aldi fan.
Blue and white accents
The store in Berlin’s Friedrichstraße is named after Checkpoint Charlie, the former border crossing between East and West Berlin, just a few minutes’ walk away. Aldi pulls out all the stops here to play up its brand identity to the fullest. This starts with a blue and white carpet at the entrance, a wall with the illuminated Berlin skyline in the famous blue and white pattern of the Aldi bags, and more blue and white accents in the store interior.
“The Friedrichstraße is a special place in Berlin. We want to combine the cult of this location – with its rich history – with the Aldi cult”, Christian Kilbert, managing director of the regional Aldi headquarters, explains. Customers discover interesting facts about the retailer on wall posters: “Who knows that Aldi Nord opened its first store in East Germany still during the GDR era? And where?”
T-shirts and umbrellas
The store is located in the basement and, with its 650 sqm of sales space, is barely more than half the size of a standard Aldi supermarket. Nevertheless, it offers space for the usual range, thanks to some clever interventions, such as space-saving cash registers built especially for the store.
The exclusive range of merchandise Aldi offers its fans is a real treat: T-shirts, umbrellas, mugs, caps… all in the recognisable blue and white Aldi stripes. In short, an Aldi that will undoubtedly become a tourist attraction and at the same time is a tribute to artist Günter Fruhtrunk, the designer of the iconic Aldi pattern.
