Family Feud at Aldi Nord
| Case Code: BECG170 Case Length: 10 Pages Period: 2012-2019 Pub Date: 2021 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.500 Organization: Adli Nord Industry: Retailing Countries: Germany Themes: Family Business, dispute,succession planning |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
The Reclusive Billionaires
Theo married Cäcilie in the late 1940s. They had two children, Theo Albrecht Jr. (Theo Jr., born in 1950) and Berthold Albrecht (Berthold, born in 1954). Cäcilie also took an active part in the business with the brothers..
Aldi Nord and the Three Foundations
The Markus Foundation held 61% of Aldi Nord. The purpose of the foundation was to “to make one-off or ongoing donations to the beneficiaries and to maintain, promote and expand the group of companies established by the founder.” The foundation held the assets and trademark rights to Aldi Nord, which included the corporate headquarters, Aldi regional companies in Europe, and the properties of 5000 stores across Europe. It also held a 100% stake in Trader Joe’s. According to Theo Jr, “The purpose of the foundations is to provide the necessary liquidity, so that the company can perform its duties and live up to its obligations. The company depends on the capital from the foundations for its expansion abroad, to modernize stores and invest in the future.” ..
Point of Contention
Babette, Berthold’s wife, had started splurging money on luxuries a few years before the death of Berthold. He died when the couple was living in Grand Hotel Qullehof in the Swiss town of Bad Ragaz, where he was taking treatment for his liver problem. From that time, Babette stopped living by the rules of the Albrecht family..
Amended Articles
When the Jakobus Foundation was created, it was to have five members. Three were to be from the family, one from the management of Aldi, and one member was to be a lawyer or business consultant. After the passing away of Theo in 2010, Berthold, who was already ill, and Theo Jr. decided to amend the Articles of Association of the Jakobus Foundation and the Lukas Foundation in the interests of the company..
Cäcilie’s Will
Cäcilie died in November 2018. Her will was opened only in February 2019 and the contents of it were published by German weekly Bild am Sonntag only in April 2019. In her will, Cäcilie cited that Berthold had had doubts about the ability of his children to maintain the ethos of Aldi Nord..
Impact of the Feud
The feud had its impact on the image of the family, which had till then remained highly private, and even sued newspapers for publishing about them. “So to have this play out in public, in the German tabloids, to have them give interviews as has been the case on a few occasions, has been very, very shocking to Germans who are used to thinking of this family – despite the fact that they’re one of the wealthiest in Germany – as being essentially invisible..
Exhibits
Exhibit I: The Albrecht Family Tree
Exhibit II: Aldi Nord – Gross Revenues in Germany
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