Preview: Andergrove Aldi explored, low prices, opening sale

We saw it first! Low prices, cheeses, chocolates and even 50 inch TV’s, take a walk through Mackay’s first aldi. PHOTOS, VIDEO, PRICES.

Anticipation is at a fever pitch the day before the Mackay’s first Aldi is slated to open.
A couple, misled by a typo on the Aldi website, had travelled excitedly up from Sarina to see what the storefront was all about, only to be turned away with the news that they were a day early.

Aldi will open on May 15 from 8:30am until 6pm. Photo: Fergus Gregg

While Aldi Andergrove is shut to the public for a few more hours, the workers and new manager were hard at work completing the final preparations.

Extra orders have been made to ensure that the expected rush doesn’t clear them out and the middle aisles are stocked with electronics, homeware and confectionaries in Mackay’s inaugural weekly ‘special buys’.

In a special opening sale, Aldi's famous 'middle aisle' will be flogging air fryers, 50 inch TVs and more. Photo: Fergus Gregg

Any shoppers arriving before 8:30am will have to line up and it’s expected that as the carpark reaches capacity, a ‘one in, one out’ rule will be enforced.

A big selling point of the Aldi shopping experience is the supposed lower prices when compared to Coles and Woolworths.

The first difference between the Aldi experience and Coles and Woolworths is their shopping trolley tokens.

Aldi shopping trolleys can either be accessed using a gold coin or one of the Aldi shopping trolley tokens which are reusable and cost $0.99.

Aldi stocks favourites like Tim Tams alongside their own biscuit options. Photo: Fergus Gregg

There’s a preconception that Aldi being a German company largely import their products and while this may be true for certain brands of cheese or their confectionary section, Aldi say that 97% of their fresh produce is Australian and 100% of its meat comes from Aussie cattle farmers.

Aldi's answer to Connoisseur, Indulge, is roughly half Connoisseur’s price. Photo: Fergus Gregg

While Aldi is known for their ‘special buys’ and has a ‘super saver’ section, shoppers shouldn’t expect to hunt the sales on their regular groceries.

Instead Aldi offer seasonal limited time ranges like premade cottage pies and mushroom risotto for winter before swapping to other products in Spring.

Unlike in other parts of Australia, Aldi has been unable to secure their liquor license in Queensland, so alcohol will not be on offer at the Andergrove location.

Originally published as Preview: Andergrove Aldi explored, low prices, opening sale