Dive Brief:
- Lidl US announced Monday the expansion of its outdoor garden centers to 76 stores.
- The rollout of the concept to nearly half of its U.S. stores follows a successful pilot, according to the discounter.
- Lidl said that the expansion comes at a time when other grocers are expanding their services and offerings into non-food categories.
Dive Insight:
With the arrival of spring, Lidl is looking to flowers and plants as a new way to appeal to shoppers.
At Lidl Garden Centers, customers can shop a variety of flowers, plants, soil, hanging baskets, planters and other gardening accessories, the discounter said.
The discounter said it tested the Garden Center concept in 2022 on Long Island, New York, with Gabrielsen Farms. The following year, Lidl expanded the concept across its stores in New York.
Now, Lidl is taking a three-phased approach to bringing its outdoor garden centers to its stores before the end of May. Starting Wednesday, the discounter is bringing the centers to its stores in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. In early April, the company will start rolling them out to stores in Virginia and Maryland. At the end of April, locations in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York will add the centers.
Lidl has teamed up with local, family-owned growers Gabrielsen Farms, American Color Inc. and van Hoekelen Greenhouses to provide plants and flowers.
Since opening its first store in the U.S. in 2017, Lidl has struggled to gain market share stateside. Lidl currently operates more than 170 stores across nine states and Washington, D.C., — a fraction of its global footprint, which spans more than 12,000 stores across more than 30 countries.
Other grocers are also embracing non-food items to draw in customers. In recent years, Hy-Vee has added nail salons, financial services, eyewear, clothing and fitness equipment to stores while H-E-B has added more product lines to its Home by H-E-B department.
