Lidl Comes to America
America’s teeming food-retailing landscape is going to get even tighter. Lidl and ALDI, two of Germany’s keenest discount retail competitors, are poised to continue their longtime intense European rivalry in the U.S. marketplace with the opening of Lidl’s first 20 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia in the spring of 2017. The chain will add another 80 stores by mid-2018, establishing a strong footprint with which to go head-to-head with ALDI and pose a formidable threat to many of America’s established food retailers. What this means for U.S. consumers is they are about to add yet another retailer to the growing array of food retailing options. And Lidl’s low-pricing strategy will be a significant draw.