Aldi CEO talks money-saving strategies

If you’re wondering how important spending less on groceries is for consumers, Jason Hart, CEO of Batavia, IL-based Aldi Inc. BB #:116756 joined Good Morning America on Sept. 16 to discuss it.

Hart joined Michael Strahan for a four-minute segment titled “Grocery chain CEO shares how to cut food bills as consumer prices rise.”

Hart was unable to pinpoint a category with the highest inflation (those numbers are available in the latest report from 210 Analytics) though he did suggest much of the price increases were in proteins and dairy.

“No categories are immune from the food inflation,” he said. “The cost of food comes down to the commodity prices, the cost of transportation, and labor, and all three of those things are being dramatically impacted by a demand and supply imbalance, which is causing inflation.”

Hart went on to discuss the popularity of private labels (which Aldi happens to carry, nearly exclusively), and explained Aldi’s shopping cart strategy (use a quarter to unlock the cart, and get it back when you’re done) for the uninitiated, and how it helps the retailer maintain a lower overhead and labor costs.

The segment was less about consumers saving money and more about how Aldi saves money and passes along the savings. That it was even headline news for a morning show highlights the importance of what we’ve been talking about over the past six months or so, as grocery prices continue to rise.

Inflation has turned a corner from a temporary nuisance to a grocery budget crisis for many consumers.

Every retailer needs to be out there talking up what they’re doing to help consumers save money.

Watch the segment here.