Fast Growth Means Arlington County

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

Neckarsulm, Germany-based Lidl, one of the fastest-growing retailers in Europe, is getting ready to expand into the United States. Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced this month that the company plans to invest a massive $202 million to establish its U.S. corporate headquarters and to open a regional headquarters and a distribution center in Virginia.

Lidl’s U.S. corporate headquarters will be located in Arlington County. The German retailer will invest $77 million to build it, and will bring 500 new jobs to the area. The remaining $125 million will go to Spotsylvania County, where Lidl plans to build the regional headquarters and distribution center. This investment will also create 200 new jobs.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked together with Arlington and Spotsylvania counties to secure the project for the state of Virginia. The governor approved a total of $5 million in grants from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist the two counties, and another $2 million from the Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant. Lidl will also have access to additional funding and services through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program to support its employee training activities.

Gov. McAuliffe made the announcement after meeting with Lidl’s leaders in Germany. In a news release, he said that the $202 million investment represents an important economic win for the two Virginia counties as “the jobs and economic activity it will generate will contribute directly to my administration’s work building a new Virginia economy.”

Lidl operates nearly 10,000 stores in 26 countries throughout Europe. The company offers its customers fresh meat, produce and bakery items, as well as household goods, at low prices. It is part of the Schwarz Group, the largest retailer in Europe and one of the largest in the world.