European grocery Lidl ‘ excited’ as it prepares to open first stores in U. S.

The four MidAtlantic stores will be relatively small and feature exclusive brands

“When customers shop at Lidl, they will experience less complexity ( and) lower prices.” Brendan Proctor, CEO of Lidl U. S.

America is about to get another German supermarket chain, one that’s known throughout Europe but a latecomer in the notoriously tough U. S. market.

Lidl, with more than 10,000 stores in 27 countries, will open its first four stores in the United States next month.

In the cutthroat U. S. supermarket industry and its razor- thin profit margins, Lidl hopes to score with relatively small stores. They will average 20,000 square feet with six aisles, and about 90% of the merchandise will be exclusive brands, according to the company.

Among the offerings are certified fresh and frozen seafood, wines, fresh produce and baked goods and organic and glutenfree products

The company released the list of the 20 stores it plans to open in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia during the summer but declined to identify which will be among the inaugural bunch.

By the end of next summer, Lidl ( rhymes with “beetle”) said it will open 100 stores along the East Coast, creating 5,000 jobs. it joins Aldi in the discount segment, another German chain that already has made inroads in the United States, using a similar small- footprint, mostly housebrands strategy.

“We are excited to open our first stores in the United States in a few short weeks,” said Brendan Proctor, CEO of Lidl U. S. “Lidl is grocery shopping refreshed, retooled and rethought to make life better for all our customers. ... When customers shop at Lidl, they will experience less complexity, lower prices, better choices and greater confidence.”