NECKARSULM, Germany -- Lidl is set to launch operations in the United States, with plans to open about 100 small-format grocery stores along the East Coast over the next year. The first locations are expected to open this summer, ahead of the German retailer’s initial schedule of late 2017 or 2018, according to recent reports.
The chain, which specializes in efficient, no-frills operations by offering store brands at low prices, intends to establish its first 20 sites in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Initial plans for the U.S. market were laid out in 2015.
Click here for a look at where the first stores will open.
The remaining stores will be built out across a swath of the East Coast that stretches from Pennsylvania to Georgia, according to its U.S. website.
Criteria for site selection includes a minimum of 4 acres that can accommodate a 36,000-square-foot stand-alone store with a minimum of 180 parking slots; high visibility at a lighted intersection, with established retail nearby; high population density; and zoning for grocery use.
Lidl currently operates about 10,000 stores in 27 countries.
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