Small-Format Lidl to Make Big U.S. Debut in June
By Greg Lindenberg on May 18, 2017ARLINGTON, Va. -- Lidl will open its first small-format discount grocery stores in the United States on June 15. The German company will open 20 stores during summer 2017.
U.S. CEO Brendan Proctor announced the store openings at a media event in New York on May 16.
By summer 2018, Lidl plans to open up to 100 stores across the East Coast, creating a total of 5,000 U.S. jobs.
At 20,000 square feet, the new Lidl stores are larger than most convenience stores and will compete with other retail channels on price.
Click through for more details …
The Lidl experience
All Lidl stores opening this summer will be newly constructed facilities, featuring what the company calls “a manageable, easy-to-shop” six-aisle layout.
“Lidl is grocery shopping refreshed, retooled and rethought to make life better for all our customers,” Proctor said. “When customers shop at Lidl, they will experience less complexity, lower prices, better choices and greater confidence.”
The company said “shoppers can expect to get top-quality goods and groceries at up to 50% less than other supermarkets in the United States … based upon a price comparison of comparable products sold at leading national retail grocery stores.”
Store openings
Lidl released a list of 20 stores that will open in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina during summer 2017. The company said it will announce additional store openings in the coming weeks. The first stores will open in:
- Kinston, Greenville, Wilson, Sanford, Rocky Mount, Winston-Salem, Havelock, Rockingham and Wake Forest, N.C.
- Spartanburg and Greenville, S.C.
- Virginia Beach, Hampton, Culpeper, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Newport News, Richmond, North Chesterfield and Richmond, Va.
Lidl, based in Neckarsulm, Germany, operates about 10,000 stores in 27 countries. It established its U.S. headquarters in Arlington County, Va., in June 2015. Since then, it has announced regional headquarters and distribution centers in Spotsylvania County, Va.; Alamance County, N.C., and Cecil County, Md.
What the stores will offer
The U.S. Lidl stores will sell wine, and a bakery will be located at the entrance of each store that will offer breads and pastries baked fresh throughout the day.
All fresh and frozen seafood in Lidl’s everyday assortment will be certified sustainable. The stores will carry a variety of organic and gluten-free items including organic fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy and packaged food items. Private-label products will not have certified synthetic colors, trans fats or added MSG.
About 90% of the groceries available at Lidl will be exclusive brands.
The stores will offer a changing selection of nonfood products each week that will be in stores for a limited time.
The Lidl recipe
For the U.S. debut, Lidl has launched social-media accounts, produced ads and videos and has invited celebrity chef Amanda Freitag to use Lidl products to cook gourmet appetizers and promote the products’ quality, reported Retail Dive.
If shoppers are as interested in the concept as Lidl thinks they might be, said the report, the chain sees the potential to secure a deep foothold in the U.S. grocery market and force more traditional grocery retailers to re-examine the way they do business.
The U.S. iteration of a Lidl store has been in development for two years, Proctor said. “We’re agile as a retailer. We’re able to adapt and learn from the markets we’ve gone into. … Personally, I believe one of our strengths is adapting to the customer’s needs and what the customer wants, and greatly curating the range around that.”
There are many ways that Lidl's U.S. stores will stand out to shoppers, Proctor said. Much of the company's planning was based on focus groups, and participants overwhelmingly said the same thing about the shopping experience: They were interested in high-quality items, but they didn’t want to pay high prices.
Lidl believes it has the recipe to meet those desires, it said.
Competition
Lidl’s biggest U.S. rival is expected to be Wal-Mart and Aldi.
Aldi Inc., with U.S. headquarters in Batavia, Ill., is also based in Germany. It has operated small-format, discount grocery stores in the United States since 1976. It now has more than 1,600 U.S. stores in 35 states.
The company offers a “simple and streamlined approach to retailing. Aldi sells the most frequently purchased grocery and household items, primarily under its exclusive brands,” according to the company.
Following a similar initiative in 2013, Aldi in February announced an “aggressive” $1.6 billion investment in its stores, with an extensive plan to remodel and expand more than 1,300 U.S. stores by 2020. “The new Aldi store look delivers on its customers’ desire for a modern and convenient shopping experience with a focus on fresh items, including more robust produce, dairy and bakery sections,” it said.