Aldi v. Lidl: Supermarket Wars

Lesson starter: Imagine you go into an examination and the extract is about Aldi. Write down 5 things you would expect to see in the case study.

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Share your ideas with the class.

What terms appear the most frequently?

 

Tick these off as they appear in the documentary you are about to watch.

Where would you place Aldi and Lidl on the image below? Where would you place Tesco, Waitrose? Place as many supermarkets as you can think of on the diagram. (If GCSE this could be replaced with a market map.)

Watch part 1 (approximately 10 mins) of Aldi v. Lidl: Supermarket Wars. Whilst watching answer the questions that follow.

https://www.channel5.com/show/aldi-vs-lidl-supermarket-wars/?fbclid=IwAR2KpPYzV0K3FVgv1bHLe35ZC4ZAIVxm5sOKamGSWChlOGIspWpLb4tD7nM

1. 1. In what ways have the discount supermarkets disrupted the traditional supermarket industry in the UK?

 

 

2. Who was the target market of Aldi and Lidl?

 

3. What is meant by a boom? What are the characteristics of a boom?

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4. Draw a business cycle diagram and mark on it where the UK economy was in the mid-90s.

 

 

 

 

 

5. How did the state of the UK economy in the mid-90s affect supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury?

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6. Mark on the diagram below the strategy adopted by Tesco during the 90s and what strategy was adopted by Aldi.

 

6. Why would Ansoff view Aldi’s strategy as higher risk? (GCSE – what problems might Aldi face when entering the UK market?)

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8. To what extent do you think Tesco was correct, at the time, to not see Aldi as a threat? Mark your answer on the spectrum below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class activity: Write your name on a sticky note. Place it on the spectrum, which is on the board, and justify your placement. As a class can you agree on where the post it should be placed?

Watch part 2 (approximately 15 mins) of Aldi v. Lidl: Supermarket Wars. Whilst watching answer the questions that follow.

https://www.channel5.com/show/aldi-vs-lidl-supermarket-wars/?fbclid=IwAR2KpPYzV0K3FVgv1bHLe35ZC4ZAIVxm5sOKamGSWChlOGIspWpLb4tD7nM

1. What evidence was there of a price war in the 90s between the supermarkets?

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2. How did Aldi manage to keep prices so low? Beans for 3p and tomatoes for 9p. Make sure you use business terminology in your answer.

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3. Some suppliers refused to supply to Aldi and Lidl. Fill in the table below to show arguments in favour of and against this decision.

Arguments for	Arguments against

 

4. Draw a spider diagram below to show ways in which Aldi and Lidl managed to keep costs low.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Discussion: Can you have low cost and high quality?

 

6. What is the legal structure (business ownership) of Aldi and Lidl?

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7. Why is this advantageous?

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8. What was the impact of the financial crisis, in 2008, on Aldi and Lidl? Try to include at least 5 business terms in your answer. Highlight these to show you have met the challenge.

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9. Branding is just a way for big businesses to exploit the customer? Mark your answer on the spectrum below. (You might want to link this in with a taste test)

Class activity: Write your name on a sticky note. Place it on the spectrum, which is on the board, and justify your placement. As a class can you agree on where the post it should be placed?

 

Watch part 3 (approximately 15 mins) of Aldi v. Lidl: Supermarket Wars. Whilst watching answer the questions that follow.

https://www.channel5.com/show/aldi-vs-lidl-supermarket-wars/?fbclid=IwAR2KpPYzV0K3FVgv1bHLe35ZC4ZAIVxm5sOKamGSWChlOGIspWpLb4tD7nM

As you watch this next section fill in the table below to show the marketing mix of Aldi and Lidl.

Aldi	Lidl
Price
Place
Promotion
Product

 

(If applicable)

Aldi	Lidl
The extended marketing mix (7 Ps)

 

Which element of the marketing mix is the most important to the success of Aldi and Lidl? Justify your answer.

 

 

Watch part 4 (approximately 15 mins) of Aldi v. Lidl: Supermarket Wars. Whilst watching answer the questions that follow.

https://www.channel5.com/show/aldi-vs-lidl-supermarket-wars/?fbclid=IwAR2KpPYzV0K3FVgv1bHLe35ZC4ZAIVxm5sOKamGSWChlOGIspWpLb4tD7nM

1. Aldi has set a target to increase the number of stores from ______________ to _____________ by _____________ . This represents a percentage growth rate of?

 

2. Lidl has a ________________ investment plan to open _______________ new stores in _______________________________. Is this a good idea?

Arguments for	Arguments against

 

3. Read the article below.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45572731

What strategies have Tesco implemented to try and compete in the highly competitive supermarket industry? For each strategy give a risk rating out of 10, with 10 being the highest risk. Draw this on a spider diagram, mind map or in a table.

 

 

 

 

 

4. What is meant by e-commerce?

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5. To what extent are Aldi and Lidl right to avoid implementing e-commerce?

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6. Annotate the image below to show how the external environment has affected both traditional and discount supermarkets.

 

7. Can the discount supermarkets carry on growing as they have done? Split the class into small teams. Prepare a short presentation to argue either yes they can, or no, they can’t. After listening to both sides of the argument write a conclusion starting – Overall, to a large extent I believe …….