1107 W. Landis Ave
Welcome to the Vineland Lidl!
We haven't seen a Lidl that looks like this in a long while! The last time I made a post about one of this ilk was back in October of 2022, when, in the very first post on this blog, we toured the Folsom Lidl. That store was the very first Pennsylvania Lidl; this store is also special, as, in addition to being New Jersey's first Lidl, it was the first location in the Philadelphia area. It opened on November 16, 2017, the same year that Lidl expanded into the United States, just about five months after their first American stores opened in the Carolinas and Virginia. Inside this store we go!
This store has a slightly more deluxe version of the Folsom decor, with more color and pictures.
Produce and the bakery department encompass the grand aisle that we see when we walk in. While this store has the same layout as Folsom, the building seems to be quite a bit bigger so everything is more spaced out.
Wholesome variety is on the right side of the store.
As is usual with discount grocery stores, the store doesn't have any sort of meat or seafood department, so they're sold in freezers.
Dairy is on the back wall of the store.
A large selection of random general merchandise, ranging from games to clothes to kitchen gadgets, takes up the center portion of the store.
A look at aisle 5.
Frozen foods and various drinks and paper products are on the right wall of the store.
The checkouts on the front end. While this store seemed to have much more space than Folsom, the checkouts were somehow even more cramped.
I came. I took pictures. I blogged.
Other Images of Interest
Street View Images
2023
You can't see it in the photo, but in every Street View photo taken since the store opened, there has been a "now open" banner in the parking lot, even several years after it opened. It wasn't there when I went, which could be a good sign or a bad one.
2018
A "now open" sign would still be acceptable here, since the store was under a year old. Also, if you compare this picture with the 2023 one, you'll see that Lidl has added "FOOD MARKET" signage on the front of the store. Folsom has done the same. I guess Lidl is having issues with people not knowing what kind of store they are?
Nearby competition
0.3 miles away: Walmart Supercenter of Vineland
Directly across the street from Lidl is the Walmart Supercenter in town. It opened in 2009 on the site of a former Jamesway, and it's one of the larger Walmarts that I've seen. Judging by the color scheme on the outside, it seems like it still has a Project Impact decor on the interior.
0.4 miles away: ShopRite of Delsea
We saw the ShopRite next door last week. It opened in 2013 and was much busier (and much nicer) than the Lidl, though they're definitely a different type of store.
Thank you for joining me on this tour! This store wasn't bad, but it was weirdly empty inside. There were barely any shoppers, and the large size of the store compared to the other Lidls I've been to did not help with that. But the store itself was still nice. That's all for this week, and I'll see you next time! The Retail Connection: Rethink grocery.
I like this particular Lidl building design - it's quite nice, but that's probably most of the problem, it's too nice. The funky curved roof and glass exterior probably don't scream "discount grocery store" to people. I know I've seen photos of a few closed Lidl stores of this design out there, which is somewhat sad, considering they aren't super old.
ReplyDeleteThe decor in this store looks more like something from a mainstream grocery store than a discount store too - it's quite nice, especially with the 3D signage. Lidl's newer stores seem to have the more stereotypical discount grocer aesthetic with plainer buildings and simpler interior decor, trying to drive home what they are. Overall though, Lidl doesn't seem to be the slam-dunk success they were hoping to be in the US, and Aldi is really putting pressure on them here. Lidl's new store openings have come to a crawl while Aldi has hundreds of new stores in the pipeline. I guess we'll have to see what the future holds for Lidl in the US, if they can find a way to prop up sales here.
I really like it too! It definitely does look a little too sleek and modern for what the store actually is, and people might be lead to think it's actually a higher-end grocery store. I've seen a few closed ones, too - I even remember seeing one that had been closed long enough to have been repurposed as a Goodwill. I believe it was the location in Shelby, NC.
DeleteI thought the same thing about the decor. I had never seen it before - I thought the decor the Folsom store has was the first one Lidl used in the US. Personally, I prefer Lidl over Aldi, but that definitely doesn't seem to be the popular opinion. My local Lidl is quite busy, but none of the other ones I've been to seem to have enough business. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they start to close more stores, if they can't figure something better out.