ALDI Corner Store opens its first Victorian location in Melbourne CBD, designed by Global Design Studio Landini Associates with Mural Artwork by George Rose.
Following their nationwide redesign of ALDI Australia’s stores, as well as its creation of a new ALDI model for the Chinese market, Landini Associates were engaged to design a local, smaller trading format for ALDI Australia, ALDI Corner Store. The concept launched in North Sydney in July 2021 and has today opened its doors at 501 Swanston Street in Melbourne CBD.
The brief to Landini was to interpret the traditional ALDI model into a new format that is genuinely local, uniquely different, but recognisably ALDI.
Landini Associates’ scope of work included Naming, Identity, Interior Design, all in-store Graphic Communications (Environmental, Signage, Wayfinding, Tone of Voice and Uniforms), Mural Commission and Direction and Detailed Design Guidelines for National Roll Out.
A New Experience, Recognizably ALDI
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 take away 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.
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.
Director of ALDI Corner Stores Huw Longman said that the corner stores were developed for 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 Melburnians that puts convenience at the centre alongside ALDI’s renowned value.”
Reinventing Local
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. 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 recognizable and distinct, both in the design parameters and by commissioning a unique artwork, painted in-situ, for each site”. says Mark Landini Creative Director, Landini Associates.
A key intention of the design concept is this commissioning of 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 new Melbourne CBD store unveils the work of artist George Rose.
To generate a consistent brand atmosphere and customer experience, each ALDI Corner Store will feature a material palette of pale brick, white tiles and blockwork, terrazzo and black and galvanized 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.
Quotes from Landini Associates
“ALDI Corner Store raises the bar for what local shopping should be – convenient, joyful and fun.” – Mark Landini, Creative Director, Landini Associates
“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.” – Ben Goss, Graphic Design Director, Landini Associates
` “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.” – Wayne Cheng, Interior Design Director, Landini Associates
Design Landini Associates
Photos courtesy Trevor Mein
Mural Artwork directed by Landini Associates and created by George Rose
