Australia and New Zealand 2026

[ChrisC]

Aldi owns Trader Joe's and purchased the company in 1979 from founder Joe Coulombe

Not quite. There is South Aldi and North Aldi.

Trader Joe's and Aldi are connected through a famous family rift. In 1961, German brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht split their family grocery business into two separate entities, Aldi Süd and Aldi Nord, following a disagreement over whether to sell cigarettes. Both entities have fascinating roots and distinctly separate footprints in the U.S. grocery market:

Inside the Little-Known Family Feud That Created Aldi and Trader Joe’s​

Long before these grocery favorites arrived in the U.S., a quiet family divide nudged Aldi and Trader Joe’s in directions no one could have predicted — shaping how Americans shop for groceries today.

https://www.foodandwine.com/trader-joes-aldi-family-history-11874989

I thought it was a joke! Aldi doesn't sell clothes here, only bargain-basement food.

The USA Stores have clothes and lots of random stuff (sometimes towels, beach items, furniture, dog toys, etc.). My favorite thing is walking down the non-food aisle at Aldi and seeing what they sell. No ski wear, but definitely some jackets/windbreakers. It's so random -- the Home Goods/TJ Maxx/Marshalls aisle.

Aldi Finds (Weekly Specials): A frequently changing aisle of non-food items including kitchen appliances, bedding, seasonal clothing, gardening tools, and holiday decorations. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

 

[EMSC]

Aldi owns Trader Joe's and purchased the company in 1979 from founder Joe Coulombe

Sort of and sort of not. Aldi Nord owns Trader Joe's.

Aldi, the original German company was founded by two brothers who eventually had a huge falling out and they agreed to split the German Aldi footprint into Aldi North and Aldi South within Germany. Oddly the big fallout causing the split was over selling cigarettes in the stores, or not.

Aldi Nord (North) owns Trader Joe's and Aldi Sud (South) uses the actual Aldi brand name on the stores they own/run in the US. Not a ton of areas yet, but some places have both brands right next to each other in the US. So some fun Aldi vs Aldi competition.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I Googled

What are Aldi Nord stores in Europe like vs. Aldi Sud?

The main difference is geographic north vs. south locations. But unlike in the US:

Aldi Süd is generally considered to have more modern, brightly lit, and pleasant stores, while Aldi Nord has historically had a more traditional, "no-frills" feel

 

[Sbooker]

Sorry for the off topic rant that started the Aldi thread drift.

NZ South Island had a few inches in the forecast that will make things white at least.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Yes, buying a few pre-season/early-day tickets is a strategy. Vail tries to count a 2 or 3-day pass as a season pass. Their definition is that anything purchased pre-season/lift opening is defined as a pass product. Sure-whatever. Makes it easier for Vail and Industry analysts to drop all kinds of revenue into the "Pass" bucket.

This is really what the NSAA/Kottke Report calls a "Frequency Product," like Mountain Collective or Indy Pass. During the last year I got that into (2022) I repeatedly asked how 5-7 day usage at "partner areas" was counted. Given these numbers:

Daily/multi day tickets: 36.9%
Season passes: 52.3%
Frequency products: 4.7%
Off-duty employees: 2.3%
Comp tickets & other non-paid tickets: 3.7%
Frequency products are pre-paid ticket products that are valid for a set number of non-consecutive days of use throughout the season, while multi-day tickets are valid for a set number of days, but generally limited to consecutive days or a set number of days within a set period of use (e.g., good 3 out of 5 consecutive days).

I have to believe that any use of an Ikon or Epic Pass was classified as "Season Pass."