You may know about Aldi, but have you heard of Lidl? The competition between these two German-based grocery chains is about to heat up as Lidl officially kicks off its U.S. expansion plans this month with its first nine stores opening in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
While the chain isn’t likely to open in Columbus this year, expansion to Ohio has been confirmed by industry publication Supermarket News, with reports of store locations currently being evaluated near Youngstown, Cincinnati and Dayton.
While Aldi and Lidl have a lot in common in other countries — both typically offer barebones service and discount pricing models — Lidl has different plans for its new U.S. stores. The company announced that it plans to go more head-to-head with Trader Joe’s (which is owned by Aldi) and sell higher brand products with a focus on locally sourced foods.
The U.S. Lidl stores are expected to clock in between 30,000 and 36,000 square feet, which is larger than the average Aldi, but smaller than the average Kroger.
Meanwhile, Aldi is increasing their presence to push back against their competitor. The chain announced earlier this year that it would be investing $1.6 billion to expand and remodel 1,300 locations across the U.S.
For more information, visit www.lidl.com.