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
Dia (supermarket chain) Dia (supermarket chain) Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación, S.A. (DIA) is a Spanish international hard-discount supermarket chain founded in 1979 which as of 2012 operates 6,914 stores internationally, making it Europe's third largest food sector franchiser. It has also owned Schlecker in Spain and Portugal since 2013. The company is headed by the Venezuelan-born Ana María Llopis. Dia is a discount supermarket chain which follows a policy of reduction of prices by means of minimizing operational costs. The furniture and decoration of the store are minimal. Costs are also reduced by limiting the choice of products to a narrow selection of