A recent #bringtoorlando feature on The Daily City was the grocery store chain Lidl. Some top reasons for wanting the chain in Orlando are low prices, cheap wine, quality bakery, organic produce and a large gourmet cheese selection. Lidl looks like the lovechild of Trader Joes and Aldi.
They're making their way down the East coast but no Florida locations have been announced...
Yet.
Perhaps Lidl's US growth is why Amazon has been slashing (some) Whole Foods product prices. We could be on to something with that thinking according to a recent study by University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. It did an independent study commissioned by Lidl U.S. to see how Lidl's low prices changed its competitors' prices.
One of those competitors studied was styrofoam-loving Publix.
Competitors slashes prices of some products by as much as 55% in markets that contained a Lidl. The effect is 3 times as harsh than when Wal Mart swept through the country.
Competitors' prices still averaged 25% higher than Lidl.