Showing off how all retail spaces, even grocery stores, are evolving, Lidl is currently testing out an “Express” Store. Lidl opened up the test Express store at its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, in late March. This is the result of converting a ground-floor 1,000-square-foot space that used to be used for storage.

About the Express Store

The main function of the Lidl Express store is to serve employees of the company. Despite this, it is open to the public and accessible via the main street, where you will spot a Lidl Express logo.

Inside the store, you will find both perishable and non-perishable items. These include beer, wine, and produce. There are also breakfast pastries, a coffee station, and limited prepared foods. The store itself has three self-checkout stands and no manned registers.

Future Plans

As of now, Lidl does not have any plans to create more Express locations in the future. At the same time, however, the company is not fully eliminating that possibility. Instead of thinking of it as a test Express store, Lidl mostly created the small store to show off the products for the employees while also giving them a convenient place to get food.

Other Grocery Stores Are Testing Smaller Spaces

Even though Lidl does not currently view its Express store as a test run for potential expansions of the concept, other major grocers are going that route. Whole Foods already has a store that is in a bodega style in Chelsea in NYC. Aldi Sud debuted its Aldi Local with 6,000 square feet in London. Dollar General, Target, and Meijer have also all made their debuts of scaled-down stores.

Flexibility Paves the Future

The trend for grocers, including Lidl, seems to be emphasizing flexibility to help meet varying store sizes. Those in the industry feel that Lidl’s Express store shows that the brand can scale down, which may help it expand, particularly in areas where real estate is expensive.

Lidl has also made headlines for stores on the other end of the spectrum. When the brand got to the United States two years ago, its 36,000-square-foot model for stores was much larger than the version it had used in Europe. When those large spaces didn’t do as well as the company hoped, Lidl adapted quickly and created spaces of varying sizes. At the very least, that shows Lidl’s flexibility, which should serve the company well in the future, allowing it to meet a range of market needs.

Source:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/

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