Lidl Eyes Faster Expansion Into U.S. Grocery Market

Discount grocery retailer Lidl plans to open its first U.S. store in summer 2017 in Fredericksburg, Va., and to have 20 stores operating by end of the year in that state, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The Va. stores represent a key phase of the company’s U.S. expansion plans. It expects to have 100 stores operating by mid-2018. Having established headquarters in Arlington, Va., Lidl must hire more than 4,000 employees for its first 100 stores. It has built distribution centers in Va., N.C., and Md..To help close the pricing gap with grocery discounters like Lidle, Walmart is working with suppliers and packaged goods vendors to improve logistics.