Lidl, German Grocery Chain, Plans First Philly Location

Lidl, a German grocery chain that competes fiercely with discounter Aldi in both companies’ native land, is planning its launch in the United States. Strike 1 in the battle for grocery store supremacy? A location in Philadelphia, in the Port Richmond neighborhood. Lidl, which has its U.S. base in Arlington, Virginia, recently bought up two parcels covering nearly four acres at 2270 and 2300 E. Butler St., near  Aramingo Avenue, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. The chain dropped $2.88 million for the land. Unlike other grocers, who lease the land on which their stores sit, Lidl generally buys the land outright.

The Lidl stores, as shown here with an Italian example, are half the size of a normal grocery store, but bigger than their close competitor, Aldi.

Lars Kerstein, a vice president with brokerage Metro Commercial Real Estate who isn’t involved in any deals having to do with Lidl, was quoted in the Inquirer as marveling at the chain’s expansion tactics: “They came in very aggressively with a lot of capital, with the intention of buying the best real estate in every one of the nodes in this entire area. They’re trying to blanket the region.” He points out that the Butler Street location is close to a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a ShopRite, underscoring Lidl’s confidence that it can compete with big-name, established chains in the grocery game.

Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, a unit of the Schwarz Gruppe grocery conglomerate, established its U.S. base in 2015. Since then, it has been making quiet plans to cover the East Coast in stores. News reports have identified potential Philadelphia-area Lidl stores at “Warminster (at the site of a former Pathmark supermarket on York Road); Ridley Township (a former Pathmark site on MacDade Boulevard); and the Cumberland County, N.J., city of Millville (on an underdeveloped lot near Union Crossing Boulevard and Second Street).” Plans are for the first stores to open in 2018.

According to site specifications on its website, Lidl is planning stores of around 36,000 square feet. That’s only half the size of a traditional grocery store, but double that of competitor Aldi. Like Aldi, Lidl plans on selling discounted groceries through house brands.