German Retailer Lidl Planning U.S. Debut

New York City Lidl, a German deep-discount food retailer comparable to Aldi but a little more upscale and brand-oriented, is making plans to enter the United States.

According to Schwarz Group CEO, Klaus Gehrig, the company plans to enter the U.S. market with its Lidl banner by 2012 at the latest. Gehrig also confirmed that the next foreign market Lidl wants to enter is Switzerland.

Gehrig said the company also is pursuing a 1,000-store opening initiative in Germany, one that would bring it to 4,000 locations.

Lidl does about $79 billion annually in sales and potentially could be a force in U.S. value retailing.