Launching Thursday 8th September, ALDI is bringing a shopping experience like no other to Melbourne CBD, with the opening of its first-ever Victorian Corner Store and celebrating the launch with coffee for Melburnians at truly ALDI prices.
Located at 501 Swanston Street, in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, the Corner Store has been created to bring a curated ALDI experience to inner-city customers. The Corner Store will provide unrivalled convenience to Melbourne shoppers, stocking an extensive range of ready-to-go meals from sushi to sandwiches as well as artisan bakery items in-store.
In true Melbourne fashion, ALDI will welcome the first customers into the store with a cup of award-winning, barista brewed Lazzio coffee for only 37 cents. The limited-time only Lazzio coffee cart will pop up from store opening today until Friday, September 9, allowing Corner Store customers to treat themselves to Lazzio coffee, hand-roasted in Victoria by the acclaimed Black Bag Roasters team for the price it would cost if buying the beans at ALDI and brewing it at home.
Varun Raheja, ALDI Buying Director said: “We are so excited to bring a unique in-store pop-up to Melbourne for the launch of Victoria’s first Corner Store. And who better to sample our coffee than the coffee aficionados of Melbourne’s CBD – who have worked the formula of delicious coffee and impressive convenience down to a fine art.
“With our Lazzio coffee receiving the Golden Bean Award for the past three consecutive years and the Canstar Award for being the Best Retail Coffee in Australia this year, we’re confident our beans stack up and will impress the coffee-loving Melburnians.”
All sales of Lazzio barista brewed coffees as part of this activation will be donated directly to ALDI’s national charity partner Camp Quality
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. Grocery and fresh produce are still the core offering but are newly supplemented by a growing range of ready-to-go meals and convenience-based products, from sushi to sandwiches, as well as new takeaway coffee and artisanal bakery offering by Grain + Stone. The brand’s beloved “Special Buys” remain a core part of the ALDI Corner Store service offering.
Huw Longman, Director of ALDI Corner Stores said: “ALDI’s Corner Stores have been designed to better meet the needs of our customers in high-density, urban areas. Shopping habits continue to evolve, and we are seeing a large audience of people who prefer shopping more frequently with a hyper-focus on convenience.
“The ALDI Corner Store is designed purposefully to meet these needs, taking convenience and creativity and combining it with the kind of quality and savings that only ALDI can offer. It’s a curated experience for inner-city Melbournians that puts convenience at the centre alongside ALDI’s renowned value.”
Additionally, as a tribute to Melbourne’s renowned artistic community, ALDI Corner store has commissioned a mural from acclaimed Melbourne artist George Rose, who has brought to life her trademark blend of vibrant colours and abstract strokes to create a captivating in-store installation.
ALDI Corner Store Design Concept, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Mural Commission and Direction and Detailed Design Guidelines by Landini Associates.
Landini and ALDI decided to reinvent 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,” said Mark Landini, Creative Director, Landini Associates.
The brief to Landini was to interpret the traditional ALDI model into a new format that is genuinely local, uniquely different, but recognisably ALDI
“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 by commissioning a unique artwork, painted in-situ, for each site,” said Landini.
Landini Associates’ new design also 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.
Wayne Cheng, Interior Design Director, Landini Associates added, “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 for ALDI customers.”
