Hundreds on hand for Bear Lidl opening

The opening drew a few hundred shoppers, with the first 100 or so in line receiving a certificate for $100 in groceries. Would-be shoppers circled the lot looking for parking, and the line of those waiting for the store opening stretched to the end of the property.

Lidl blanketed the Bear area with direct mail pieces featuring digital coupons that offered discounts through codes typed into its mobile device app.

German rival Aldi, which has a dozen stores in Delaware and nearby Elkton, MD, responded with a discount coupon of its own. Aldi opened its first US store in the mid-1970s.

A shopper at the head of the line said he arrived at 5:30 a.m. for the 8 a.m. opening. "It wasn't too bad," he said. "The employees weren't even here yet."

The store was completed three years ago but did not open for reasons that remain unclear. Issues reportedly centered on drainage problems at the low-lying site, a Covid-19 pandemic that strained supply chains, and issues related to the US expansion of the German grocer.

Lidl underwent several CEO changes during its US launch, which began about eight years ago.

Lagging  sales led to approximately a dozen store closings last year. One  of the affected locations was in King of Prussia, PA. A reported 200 layoffs took place earlier  at its headquarters in Arlington, VA.

More recently, the company has stepped up its expansion efforts, focusing on the New York metro area, including a location in Brooklyn. Lidl has more than 180 stores.

It also hired a new CEO who returned to Lidl after working at other companies. The US operation  overhauled its branding and marketing, offering a private label line of meat, poultry and pork, promoting its in-store bakeries and discount pricing.

Another Lidl in the Washington, DC suburb of Bethesda, MD, that sat vacant for years will open this month.