Aldi opens second store on Long Island, further competing with Lidl US

Where Manhattan is the center of high-end retail, Long Island could be the center of discount retailing. This week, Aldi will open its second new store on Long Island in New York this year, opening doors in North Babylon Aug. 27, following a location in Valley Stream earlier in the year that brings the store count to eight in the area.

The move is notable as Lidl is also home to four stores in the area, and the retailers have been said to be creating a discount rivalry on the East Coast dating back to last year in New Jersey. 

A recent study out of the University of North Carolina studied Lidl’s recent openings and their impact on pressuring other grocers nearby to lower prices.

Aldi said with its new North Babylon store — and across Long Island — the stores “will offer prices significantly lower than the competition. Simply put, Aldi won’t be beat on price.” The two stores are part of a $5 billion investment in nationwide growth to update Aldi stores and open hundreds of new ones. 

The discount chain recently passed 2,000 stores and has a strategy to go for 2,500 stores in the United States by 2022. 

“Long Island is an important market for us, and we are proud to be opening our second new store this year,” said Chris Daniels, South Windsor division vice president for Aldi. “Opening new stores and providing even more customers access to healthy, low-price groceries has always been one of our top priorities, and it’s more critical now than ever before. While food costs are rising across the country, our Long Island stores offer prices that are significantly lower than the competition.”