Dive Brief:
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German discount grocery retailer Lidl has local approvals for three New Jersey stores, one of which is already under construction, according to The Press of Atlantic City.
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Lidl has chosen sites in South Jersey, the least urban, less prosperous area of the Garden State. They will compete with nearby locations of Aldi — another Germany-based frill-free chain — and Save-A-Lot — similarly pitched to compete down-market from traditional large food sellers.
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Local officials and analysts welcome the growth and jobs the new stores will bring, and wonder how the competition will play out.
Dive Insight:
There are few areas of the northeast US more likely to succumb to the appeal of low-cost food retailers than South Jersey. Relatively isolated, farm-oriented, starved of large-sized food stores, the area is prime shopping territory for the likes of Lidl, Aldi and anyone else willing to invest a relatively small amount in a market with wide name recognition and a well-earned reputation for door-busting low prices.
America's super-sized, super-plentiful supermarkets are topping out, size- and volume-wise. As ruralites and suburbanites increasingly set out to be urbanites, such “little guys” as Aldi and Lidl have an edge, and they're grabbing it.
Close to a decade ago, an Aldi quietly moved into the college town known as Binghamton, NY, which is a long way from anything, including a Wal-Mart.
There were few on-the-floor staff, little readily available advice, and an almost hospital-sterile atmosphere, but it did not deter shoppers not at the area's first Aldi. While they seldom crammed the aisles, they bought, then they bought some more.
Lidl brings the same no-frills approach, and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for South Jersey shoppers.