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Lidl announced Friday the opening of 25 new stores here next spring on the East Coast, in states like Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas. These openings and others will bring Lidl's US footprint to more than 100 stores by the end of 2020, two years behind Lidl's original schedule.
Lidl is a global grocery store giant with more than 10,500 stores in 29 countries. But unlike his German rival Aldi, who entered the United States in 1976 and has reached nearly 1,900 stores here, Lidl has only recently moved to the country.
Lidl's has been a mixed success since she cut the ribbon of her first stores in the US in the summer of 2017.
The company initially had ambitious goals and planned to upset the US market by opening 100 sites in its first year. To break into the market, Aldi used a tactic similar to Aldi's: reduce prices, mainly offer private labels, and focus on its selections of organic and organic foods. fresh produce.
But Lidl quickly made mistakes. According to analysts, its stores were too big and too far from urban centers, which compromised its attempt to establish itself as a practical option.
"The biggest mistake they made was their real estate strategy," said Simon Johnstone, an analyst at Kantar. "When it's bigger, they lose their aura of being simple and easy to buy."
Lidl has recently adapted its strategy and slowed down its store openings. Last year, he replaced his US CEO and entered into a partnership with Boxed for an online home delivery pilot project.
The company is focusing on opening small stores in high traffic areas. For example, he recently opened three stores outside of Atlanta. The company also acquired 27 Best Market supermarkets in New York and New Jersey to gain a foothold in this market. It will revitalize these stores with Lidl in the next two to three years.
"I would not count among them to make some other small-scale local acquisitions," said Johnstone.
Lidl's biggest impact in the US so far has been to force other supermarkets to lower their prices.
In six areas of Virginia and North Carolina where Lidl opened stores in 2017, neighboring supermarkets lowered prices from half a gallon of milk up to 55% compared to where stores Lidl were not present, according to a study by Katrijn Gielens associate professor of marketing at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Prices of avocados and bread were up to 30% lower in supermarkets near Lidl stores, Gielens found.
"Discounters are very good competitors and we are extremely honest about our pricing position," Walmart US President Greg Foran said in a phone call to the press. "We are following them closely."
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