The secretive world of Aldi Australia: which aisle makes the most money and other things we learned

Aldi generates about $12bn of annual revenue from its Australian operations, the ACCC inquiry has heard. Photograph: picturelibrary/Alamy

As a privately owned company, Aldi rarely gets the sort of scrutiny faced by its listed competitors Coles and Woolworths, which are required to provide regular public disclosures including profit updates.

But a government-ordered inquiry into the supermarket sector has provided some interesting insight into Aldi’s profits and strategy as its executives endure hours-long questioning by the consumer watchdog.