German grocery store Lidl (Arlington County, Va.) announced that it is shifting its East Coast development plans.
Originally the company was purchasing its stores, the first of which opened this past June. According to Supermarket News, while those first stores initially received a great reception, that momentum waned over the course of the summer, though the company asserts that the stores have been a success.
Still, the new approach is to lease smaller stores (between about 10,000 and 21,000 square feet in size) in more dense, urban areas. This new strategy will allow Lidl to accelerate the rate at which it can acquire locations and will also allow it to get into neighborhoods where larger spaces are harder to find.
Currently, the grocery chain operates 47 U.S. stores.