The battle among German grocery giants is intensifying in the Bear-Christiana area.
Aldi will open a store at the Christiana Town Center, a center off Route 273 that is anchored by the Boscov’s store.
Aldi Center Valley Division Vice President Bob Grammer confirmed today the store will be located at 317 West Main St. in the Town Center.
No opening timeframe was released. The company is taking applications for store associates at the Christiana location.
Aldi is no stranger to the area. It opened a nearby store in Elkton, MD in 2009. Over the past few years, the chain has added half a dozen stores in Delaware as part of a nationwide expansion.
To the south, a new Aldi is coming to Coastal Sussex County at the former location of the Kmart store near Rehoboth.
Lidl, which is comparable in size to Aldi, is a latecomer to the U.S. market but has been steadily opening stores in the Mid-Atlantic and Georgia. It now has locations in Middletown and Dover.
The Aldi news follows the late April opening of the Trader Joe’s in the Christiana Fashion Center adjacent to the mall. Trader Joe’s has operated a location off Route 202 in north Wilmington for many years.
A short drive away from the Trader Joe’s, a Lidl store is under construction on Route 40 at the former Countryside Nursery location across the highway from the Food Lion store.
All three chains operate smaller supermarkets with an emphasis on private-label goods sold at discount prices.
Trader Joe’s and Aldi are operated by different branches of one of Germany’s wealthiest families.
The three chains are known for lean staffing while offering wages and benefits that are in many cases better than their domestic rivals.
Aldi takes a no-frills approach that in addition to private labels includes shoppers using their own bags and paying a refundable deposit for shopping carts.
Like Lidl, Aldi features a rotating selection of household items ranging from patio furniture to tools.
Along the way, Aldi has built a loyal following that includes consumer blogs on its offerings and weekly specials.
