Lidl is a European supermarket chain based in Germany. It plans on opening up its first stores in the United States.
Originating in Germany, Lidl is planning to jump over the Atlantic Ocean and into the United States. Lidl is focusing its efforts on the East Coast and is pursuing locations in New Jersey.
Never heard of Lidl? Wonder what the big deal is? Here's six things to know about one of the biggest European grocery chains and its plans in the United States.
Lidl is all over Europe
According to Lidl, it has 10,000 stores in 26 countries across Europe and more than 230,000 employees. It plans on opening up stores in the United States by 2018 along the East Coast -- from New Jersey to Georgia. According to Reuters, Lidl plans on opening 100 stores in America.
The name rhymes with needle
Lidl does have an official pronunciation, which sounds like "leedle." However, according to U.S. spokesman William Harwood, the pronunciation has been known to change between the 26 countries where Lidl store can be found.
@lidl @LidlUK Best prices in town atm for fruits #kiwi #sweetpotatoe #parsnips #49p [?] [?] [?] [?] pic.twitter.com/k78o2MSEj5
-- Pam (@prkblogs) April 20, 2016
Lidl has a nemesis
The main competition for Lidl is Aldi, another German-based supermarket chain. While Lidl hasn't opened any stores in the United States yet, Aldi has been in America since 1973. In 2015, the Grocer Gold Awards in London named Lidl the Grocer of the Year. The winner the previous year? Lidl's rival: Aldi. According to Aldi's website, that chain has 4,000 stores worldwide and 1,300 in the U.S.
Lidl prefers you reuse shopping bags
In the United Kingdom, Lidl encourages customers to reuse shopping bags. They do this by charging for bags for a small fee. Similar to Aldi, customers are expected to bag their own groceries away from the checkout area.
New @lidl comes with new surprises pic.twitter.com/UKGxJL6cge
-- emit (@emmetbroaders) April 17, 2016
Lidl sells everything from produce to pants
The Lidl store layout is similar to Aldi, where products are sold in cases that customers grab from. According to Northjersey.com, Lidl is smaller than other supermarkets -- offering 2,000 items compared to other places that might have 30,000 items. There's an emphasis on store brand items. In the United Kingdom, Lidl even has a clothing line that sold out within three days when it first premiered, according to Mirror.co.uk. Representatives from the U.S. haven't said specifically what products they'll carry here.
You can suggest locations for Lidl
On Lidl's website, there's a section where people submit property locations for a future market. Lidl specifies that the site should sit on a minimum of three-and-a-half acres, be near a signaled and busy intersection, be within three miles of a densely populated area and be properly zoned for grocery retail use. Lidl specifically asks for an area that has a minimum of 20,000 cars a day pass by. Lidl normally constructs its own buildings instead of moving into existing structures.
Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find NJ.com on Facebook.