We offer these fully ADA portable restrooms for rent to Aldi so they can fulfill their ADA obligations. Each unit sports a wheelchair accessible sink, ADA compliant faucet, easy to operate door handles, and an easily accessible door handles.
It’s a big bet - are trend-conscious suburban consumers ready to trade in their full-service grocery shopping experience for a sprawling chain of discount stores with bare-bones service?
Aldi and other discount grocers are hoping their vision of deep-discount stores - where you have to put a quarter deposit on a cart and do your own bagging - is the future of the grocery business in the US. Aldi, and a handful of smaller chains are aggressively expanding across the country.
Until recently, the Germany-based company has been primarily focused on low-income consumers. As they push forward into wealthier areas of the country, their initial results seem promising. Current economics aside, even wealthier Americans are becoming more budget conscious, and Aldi is trying to appeal to their new demographic by adding several upscale options, including organic foods.
A recent study from Bernstein Research seems to support Aldi’s aggressive growth plans. The report predicts grocery discounters will double their annual sales growth by 2020.
Still, Aldi is providing a very different shopping experience for American consumers. While smaller U.S. based grocery chains are focused on a luxury, upscale experience, Aldi and other discounters are heading in a radically different direction. Their outlets have little or no decor and no in-store marketing. Over 90% of their food products are house branded, and the selection is very limited when compared with traditional American grocery stores.
Aldi recently opened its 16 hundredths store in the U.S. and the last 500 stores built has been in high-traffic suburban retail centers in middle to high-income neighborhoods.
The company firmly believes in a lean labor strategy and takes several approaches to trim labor costs. For example, the company charges a .25 deposit on shopping carts, which is returned when the consumer returns their cart to the holding bin. Aldi also places bar codes in multiple places on each item so that cashiers can more quickly process them, which reduces the need for labor.
Another innovation can be found in their milk and egg section. Both of these items reside in shelves in movable displays. The upside? Employees can easily restock 240 dozen eggs and 80 gallons of milk in mere seconds.
Similarly, Aldi doesn’t take consumer phone calls at local stores. In other words, if a customer has a question, they have to drive there.
It may be a starkly different approach than upscale grocery stores, but you can’t argue with the savings, which run 25% to 40% less than traditional grocers.
Still, Aldi is not without worrisome competition. A broad range of traditional retailers is moving into the discount grocery space, from Target to dollar stores. Also, some retail grocery stores which have traditionally focused on restaurants are now opening their doors to individual consumers.
Another potential competitor is Lidl, another Germany-based grocery discounter. The company has spent the last decade analyzing the U.S. market and now has plans to open three regional headquarters and distribution centers in Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. While Lidl has not confirmed how many retail stores it plans on launching, it would seem to be concentrating on the East Coast - a region where Aldi established hundreds of locations.
For the moment, however, Aldi seems unfazed by its competition and is charging forward into upscale suburbia tastes and pocketbooks. For example, in the past, Aldi has sold no fresh meat and very little produce. Now it sells fresh organic meats. Also, Aldi store-brand foods no longer contain synthetic dyes.
Aldi’s foray into the suburbs has not gone unnoticed by resident grocery store chains. For instance, Whole Foods decided to open a discount-modeled chain called 365 by Whole Foods.
According to Bernstein Research, stores like Whole Foods will experience a drop in national sales between now and 2020 of 17%, mostly due to discounters mixing fresh and organic foods to their offerings.
All of the above aside, Aldi isn’t precisely a pioneer in the large-scale discount grocery space. Back in 1998, Kroger bought discount grocery chains Ruler Foods and Food 4 Less, whose bare-bones style predates Aldi. Kroger has struggled to make these chains work, finding it challenging to understand and communicate with the store’s target demographic.
Portable Restroom Trailers and Aldi
At PRT, we are proud of our partnership with Aldi and have provided portable restroom trailers to service their grocery store renovation job sites.
The portable restroom rentals feature commercial water saving toilets, which include an upgraded super ADA compliant pump system and sanitary push button flush. Other features include a 105-gallon freshwater tank, framed mirrors, and hot water hand wash.
While this unit may be compact in size, it sports a variety of features and upgrades previously only available on larger units. Featuring five private unisex suites with ceramic China toilets, space saving corner sinks with mirrors, and an integrated soap dispenser.
We offer these fully ADA portable restrooms for rent to Aldi so they can fulfill their ADA obligations. Each unit sports a wheelchair accessible sink, ADA compliant faucet, easy to operate door handles, and an easily accessible door handles.
This unit also includes innovative hydraulic systems that enable the entire trailer and ramp to lower to the ground with a simple push of a button. We have found this design is preferred by our clients because it results in a shorter ramp and smaller environmental footprint.
Also, its external bright LED lights indicate if the unit is occupied or not. Separate porch lights create a warm, welcoming look and feel.
There is a large mechanical room with a LED waste tank monitoring system, electric power system, and a fresh water tank. The controls for these system are easily found on the backside of the mechanical room. The large 105-gallon freshwater tank and the 325-gallon waste tank provide enough water and waste capacity for approximately 900 uses, including hand washing.
*Independently Certified compliant with Federal ADA Standards as of Oct 2013 – This certification does not apply to any state, county, or city rules.
We accept reservations up to a year in advance; call us today to inquire about your event date.
Call one of our trained National Account Specialists who will assist you in finding the right solution for your event at 1–877–600–8645.
