As part of its US growth strategy, international grocery chain Lidl is advancing multiple retail stores along the East Coast through a development program that reflects the company’s commitment to quality, social responsibility, and fair trade.
Challenge
Expanding Lidl’s US footprint required a scalable retail program that could be applied across both ground-up stores and second-generation retail spaces while maintaining a consistent customer experience. The design needed to balance operational efficiency, employee wellbeing, sustainability, and value-driven retail planning.
Solution
Our design creates a welcoming store environment featuring wood-look phenolic panels, stone bases, and oversized windows that maximize natural daylight. Efficient rectangular floorplans deliver maximum value per square foot, while front-of-store bakeries create a memorable arrival experience and back-of-house amenities support employee wellbeing.
Outcome
The program provides a foundation for Lidl’s continued growth across the US while allowing individual locations to respond to local market needs. Initial projects in Morristown, NJ and Deer Park, NY advance the brand’s expansion strategy, with the Deer Park store incorporating all-natural CO₂ refrigeration and fast EV charging stations to support long-term sustainability goals.
Every store welcomes customers with a bakery at the front of the sales floor, creating a memorable arrival experience
Store prototypes range from 24,000 to 30,000 square feet and can be adapted to both ground-up construction and second-generation retail environments.
The floor plans are efficient with a rectangular layout that deliver maximum value per square foot
Continuous enhancements to the store prototype are achieving faster time-to-market of community-based grocery stores.
Lidl is an international grocery chain that operates more than 12,000 retail stores and 200 distribution and logistics facilities in 31 countries, including more than 170 stores in the US. As part of its US growth strategy, the grocer is advancing multiple retail stores in strategic locations on the US East Coast offering essential food and non-food products at discounted prices. The vision is to leverage the brand’s established prototype to design a retail program that upholds Lidl’s social responsibility, fair trade and quality products.
NORR is an Architect of Record (AOR) providing integrated architecture, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering services for all phases of work including permit management, construction administration and documentation for both ground up stores (24,000 square-feet to 30,000 square-feet) and retrofits at existing street level retail second generation spaces. There is familiarity with the inviting appearance of Lidl that features a strong presence of wood-like phenolic panels, stone base and oversized windows for natural daylighting. The floor plans are efficient with a rectangular layout that deliver maximum value per square foot. Every store greets consumers with a bakery at the front to engage their senses for a memorable shopping experience. Back-of-house facilities such as office space and a wellness room help to support employee well-being. We are managing two initial grocery store designs in Morristown, NJ and Deer Park, NY, with further locations to come within the Program in multiple regions. The Deer Park, NY store will become the largest Lidl store to be constructed to date in the region and will feature all-natural, CO2 refrigeration and fast EV-charging stations for electric vehicles.
For Lidl, quality of design and construction is as important as the quality of their products. Continuous enhancements to the store prototype are critical to achieving faster time-to-market of community-based grocery stores that offer value at affordable prices.
