Aldi metro stores: North Sydney design a sign of things to come

Aldi is looking towards creating “corner stores” in urban centres with plans for its North Sydney outlet offering a taste of what’s to come. But there’s one detail that has got shoppers talking.

First it was Woolworths Metro, then Coles Local and now Aldi is set to shake up its shopping experience in Sydney with plans to rebrand a supermarket into a small-format “corner store”.

The German grocery and retail giant has lodged development plans to North Sydney Council to turn its North Sydney store into a local-style outlet that would feature “hole in the wall” coffee, new signage and street art.

The $37,900 plan would involve branding the outlet as a “corner store” and comes after the company announced plans to develop more “convenient” small-format stores in neighbourhood centres across Australia.

A concept plan of the new ‘corner store’ branding. Photo: Design Visual by Landini Associates

The proposed street art, pictured here, would extend on to Hill St. Photo: Design Visual by Landini Associates

The rebranding is similar to the Woolworths Metro and Coles Local outlets that combine aspects of a supermarket with grocery offerings in urban centres.

An Aldi spokeswoman said the company was exploring new formats for its stores in 2021 but did not elaborate on what internal aspects of its North Sydney store it would change.

“Small format stores have the potential to meet the needs of customers in densely populated areas and we are exploring how this would look for Aldi Australia,” she said.

“It’s not uncommon for Aldi to apply for trademarks to secure them for potential future business needs (and) we have chosen to trademark ‘Aldi Corner Store’ in Australia should we need it.”

Street artist Joel Moore has been commissioned by the company to create street art for the store, inspired by local landmarks including North Sydney Olympic Pool and Luna Park.

Street artist Joel Moore.

a montage of street artist Joel Moore's other work

“The principal objective of the art is to energise the environment and to ‘brighten up the locals’ day,” Moore’s design plans stated.

“I’ve included lots of elements and characters that represent things that North Sydney customers would purchase.

Aldi’s plans to North Sydney Council stated the hole-in-the-wall style coffee would “contribute to the vibrancy and facilities in the CBD”.

“It will (also assist in attracting customers to the existing Aldi store, which is an important retail use that serves the needs of the local and wider community,” the company stated.

A concept plan of the street art. Photo: Design Visual by Landini Associates

But some locals have questioned whether the proposal falls within the council’s aim of promoting street art in the CBD with local community group representative Bernard Smith starting the “proposal is in effect advertising and not artwork”.

The Aldi spokeswoman said it was working with the council to ensure the development “meets the needs of the community.”

Earlier this year Aldi reported stores in densely populated urban locations had outperformed larger stores during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company’s plan remains under assessment by North Sydney Council.