ALDI Australia has introduced a local, smaller trading format ALDI Corner Store, launching on 15 July at 99 Mount Street in North Sydney.
Following its nationwide redesign of ALDI Australia’s stores, Landini Associates was engaged to design the new format ALDI Corner Store to be genuinely local and unique but recognisably ALDI.
Landini Associates scope of work included naming, identity, interiors and all in-store graphic communications (environmental, signage, wayfinding, tone of voice and uniforms).
A new experience
With its emphasis on urban locations, the layout of ALDI Corner Store is driven by the need to refurbish existing buildings rather than constructing new properties — an approach aligned to the needs of a local, largely walk-in customer base, according to Landini Associates.
Grocery and fresh produce remain core offers but are newly supplemented by a growing range of ready to go meals and convenience-based products, as well as a new take away coffee and artisanal bakery offerings. The retailer’s Special Buys remain a core part of the ALDI Corner Store service offering.
The new design celebrates ALDI’s renowned dedication to corporate responsibility, reflected in the brand’s recent delivery of 100% renewable electricity across its business operations and its commitment to send zero waste to landfill by 2025.
Reinventing local
In collaboration with Landini Associates, ALDI has reinvented how smaller store formats are interpreted in Australia.
At ALDI Corner Store locations, rather than featuring neighbourhood photographs or signs declaring the location, each site will be designed to celebrate its community through strategic local art partnerships.
These artist collaborations “honour differences while embracing operational affinities and create an overall atmosphere that is consistent with the ALDI brand,” says Landini Associates Creative Director Mark Landini.
“We wanted to create a solution that is both a design signature and memorably ALDI but also something truly different. We have ensured that each ALDI Corner Store will be recognisable and distinct, both in the design parameters and in this first store by commissioning a unique artwork.”
A key intention of the design concept is to commission a local artist to create unique artworks that celebrate each store’s surrounding neighbourhood, as well as ALDI’s Food proposition, amazing quality and the best possible prices.
The debut ALDI Corner Store at 99 Mount Street in North Sydney, unveils the work of Sydney artist Mulga (Joe Moore), who was commissioned by Landini Associates to decorate both the interior and façade of the North Sydney site.
To generate a consistent brand atmosphere and customer experience, each ALDI Corner Store features a material palette of pale brick, white tiles and blockwork, terrazzo and black and galvanised steel mesh, timber palettes, oak and walnut, which is all sustainable.
These materials combine with the retail graphics solution by Landini Associates that creates a consistent appeal in everything from naming and messaging to store signage and navigation, including category and subcategory checkouts, self-checkout locations, basket storage, signage on trolleys, and unusually appealing staff uniforms.
“In collaboration with the ALDI team, we’ve created a new brand based on the importance of community and that celebrates food, people and place. With a combination of playful mural art and simple and direct graphic communications, the ALDI Corner Store experience is all about making the customer smile during their shopping journey. We’re proud of how we incorporated these important messages throughout the store environment — even the team uniforms highlight how the North Sydney property is powered by 100% renewable electricity,” says Landini Associates Graphic Design Director Ben Goss.
“The ALDI brand is known for innovation and a true dedication to customer needs, and the design of ALDI Corner Store represents this approach in action. We’re thrilled to be a part of the team behind such an exciting new offering that foregrounds healthy choices and Australian products, and that creates a welcoming, fun, and highly functional shopping environment,” says Landini Associates Design Director Wayne Cheng.
Photography by: Kyle Ford, Corporate Pixel.
