Lidl US will acquire 27 Best Market grocery outlets in New York and New Jersey in a transaction that is expected to close over the next several months. The move allows discount food chain to expand its regional presence and enter a new market in Long Island. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
“The retailer has played an enormously positive role in the area, and we look forward to working closely with Best Market employees to build on that success,” said Johannes Fieber, chief executive officer of Arlington, Virginia-headquartered Lidl US. “We are excited to expand into many great communities on Long Island and across the New York City area and introduce more customers to our simple and efficient approach to grocery shopping, which will mean high quality and huge savings for more shoppers.”
Lidl plans a step-by-step transition process that will begin next year and will involve the remodeling, reinvestment and reflagging of Best Market operations to converted Lidl stores. All Best Market employees in New Jersey and New York will have guaranteed employment opportunities with Lidl following the transition.
“Partnering with Lidl on this deal offers our employees a secure future with a growing grocer and continues the great tradition we started more than twenty years ago,” said Aviv Raitses, co-owner of Best Market.
Lidl stores have been proven to drive down prices for shoppers in areas where they open new stores. Earlier this year, a study from the University of North Carolina found that retailers in the immediate vicinity of Lidl outlets dropped prices on individual products by as much as 55 percent on average in areas where the chain conducts business.
Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, Lidl operates approximately 10,500 stores in 29 countries. It entered the US market in 2015, and today has more than 50 stores across seven east coast states.
