Lidl US adds 27 stores along the East Coast

Lidl US has snapped up 27 Best Market stores in New York and Long Island as it eyes up expansion along the East Coast.

Lidl US Store Exterior [Image: Lidl US]The move sees the discounter boost its number of stores from around 59 across seven US states to more than 80 nearly 18 months after it opened its first US stores, and enable it to tap into the lucrative New York, New Jersey and Long Island markets.

Lidl US has made its wine department a focus of its stores to attract shoppers into its stores, creating a distinctive in-store environment with dedicated fixtures and lighting, and actively promoted awards won by its wines in US and International Wine Competitions.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the US arm of the German discounter is set to remodel the stores of the family-owned regional supermarket chain and convert them to the Lidl brand in the new year.

Johannes Fieber, CEO of Lidl US said he was excited to expand into communities across Long Island -where 24 of the shops are situated – and the New York City area, promising to introduce “more customers to our simple and efficient approach to grocery shopping, which will mean high quality and huge savings for more shoppers.”

Aviv Raitses, co-owner of Best Market added that partnering with Lidl offered employees a secure future with a growing grocer. “We are delighted to be part of such a win-win and Best Market customers have something great to look forward to with Lidl.”

The deal brings Lidl US closer to its stated 100 store target, which it has hoped to establish by the middle of 2018 and demonstrates Lidl’s commitment to the US market despite a slightly shaky start.

The retailer was expected to make a big mark on the US retail scene, given its previous success in challenging established markets in countries like the UK, but expansion has been slower than anticipated.

An article in Forbes.com in July accused the retailer of failing to achieve “anything close to a viable, long-term business strategy capable of threatening any of the incumbent grocery retailers operating in the US”, and blamed a poorly designed business plan for its failure to execute its growth plans.

The retailer’s US headquarter is based in Arlington County, Virginia, with distribution centres in Spotsylvania County in Virginia, Alamance County in North Carolina, Cecil County in Maryland and Cartersville, Georgia, which also houses a regional HQ.