Is there a version without the Leninist symbol that I could send to my relatives?

Oh, TIL. I’ll have to check that out next time I’m in Germany.

The commenter above was comparing working environments in Trader Joe’s (a US only store), Costco (majority US), and “Aldi”. The logical assumption is that this comparison is with Aldi US.

It would be strange if the commenter was comparing working environments in specific store franchises across countries with completely different labor markets. Furthermore, why would they specifically compare Trader Joe’s to German Aldi in North Germany?

I am certain that the above commenter was comparing Trader Joe’s to Aldi Süd and specifically their US subsidiary. These two brands are not the same company, despite Aldi’s naming quirk.

Aldi US stores are owned by Aldi Süd, which is different from the Aldi Nord that owns trader Joe’s. You can see it in the logo that Aldi US stores use.

Actually a fun fact there, they’re both owned by different Aldis.

[Aldi] was split into two separate groups in 1960 that later became Aldi Nord (initially Northern West Germany), headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd (initially Southern West Germany), headquartered in neighbouring Mülheim

The brothers split the company in 1960, reportedly over a dispute about whether they should sell cigarettes. Karl believed they would attract shoplifters, while his brother, Theo, did not. This led to Theo running Aldi Nord and Karl running Aldi Süd.[22]

in 1976, Aldi Süd opened its first store in the United States in Iowa,[a][29][30] and, in 1979, Aldi Nord acquired Trader Joe’s.[19]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi