Lidl Preps for Ohio Entry

German deep-discounter Lidl, which debuted its first U.S. stores this summer in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, is now preparing for its entry into Ohio, according to a published report.

The grocer has already submitted applications to build locations in Broadview Heights, a suburb of Cleveland; Howland, a township near Warren; and Austintown, south of Columbus, with more applications to come.

“We would like to have grand openings of several stores at once,” Michael Kennedy, senior development manager with Arlington County, Va.-based Lidl US LLC, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “It depends how the approval process goes.”

The newspaper reported that the Broadview Heights store would measure 36,000 square feet and cost an estimated $6.8 million to build. In its application, Lidl noted that it would start building that store in spring 2019, for a projected 2020 opening.

When contacted by Progressive Grocer, Lidl spokesman Will Harwood said: "We have begun securing sites in Ohio. However, It's still very early along in that process. We have not fixed timelines for opening stores in the state. Our focus very much remains the East Coast, where we are expanding and opening our stores currently."

Lidl eventually aims to have 100 stores along the East Coast.