Karl Albrecht of , a suburb of Essen. Theo completed an apprenticeship in his mother's store, while Karl worked in a delicatessen shop. Karl served in the Wehrmacht during World War II and was wounded on the Eastern Front. After the war, the brothers jointly took over their mother's business and founded Albrecht KG. They separated that company in 1961 into Aldi Nord, covering the part of Germany north of the Ruhr under Theo Albrecht, and Aldi Süd under Karl. The first Aldi (short for Albrecht Discount) was opened in 1962. In 1994, Karl Albrecht removed himself from the daily operations of
Champion (supermarket) Champion (supermarket) Champion was a supermarket chain that operated in France and owned by the international retailer Carrefour. There were also Champion supermarkets in Belgium, Spain, Poland, Greece, Turkey and Argentina. In 1993, Champion became the main sponsor of the Polka Dot Jersey in the Tour de France until 2008. From 2009, Carrefour took over the sponsorship. In 1999, Champion is taken over by the Carrefour Group after the fusion of Promodès and Champion grows by absorbing the Stoc chain. In 2006, Carrefour closed most Brazilian Champion stores and rebranded the remainder to the Carrefour Bairro. Also, all Spanish and