LUMBERTON — The former Cinema IV building at Roberts Avenue and Fayetteville Road is being torn down to make way for the newest addition to Lumberton’s competitive grocery marketplace, international corporate giant Lidl.
The decision to locate there will remove an eyesore from a important piece of real estate in the city, which is very visible at the intersection of Fayetteville Road and N.C. 211.
McArthur Construction Company of Lumberton is doing the demolition and site preparation work for what will be a 36,000-square-foot grocery store scheduled to open in the fall.
Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, Lidl — pronounced as Leedle — is the fifth largest retailer in the world and operates about 10,000 stores in 27 countries. The company is moving into the United States market in a big way, targeting sites along the East Coast from Pennsylvania to Georgia.
The Lumberton site has been in the works since 2015. It was owned by heirs of the late Hector MacLean, a state senator and former mayor of Lumberton who also was the top man of Southern National Bank. Cinema IV was built nearly 50 years ago, replacing two downtown theatres. However, a movie has not been shown at Cinema IV in years.
The construction cost will be about $7 million. City officials, who have yet to issue a building permit, are pleased with the new addition to Lumberton commerce.
“This property is highly visible, and this is a nice use of the property,” City Manager Wayne Horne said. “We’re excited about this important addition to our community, and we’re pleased to see the revitalization of a key city property.”
Lidl has plans to build 25 stores and a distribution center in North Carolina. The company plans a total of 80 U.S. stores, with the first to open this summer.
Efforts to reach Lidl representatives in their U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, were unsuccessful. The company is privately held and rarely speaks publicly.
North Carolina stores are planned for Burlington, two stores; Cary; Charlotte, two stores; Eden; Gastonia; Greensboro; Greenville; Henderson; Indian Trail; Lexington; Mooresville; Raleigh; Rockingham; Rocky Mount; Sanford; Shelby; Thomasville; Wake Forest, two stores; Wilmington; Wilson, two stores; and Winston-Salem.
The grocery store business is intensely competitive, and the arrival of Lidl is a wake-up call for its competitors. This spring, discount grocer Aldi announced it would invest $1.6 billion in its 1,300 U.S. stores. Remodeling and expansion of Lumberton’s Aldi store began this week. That store is less than a mile from where Lidl will be located.
Lidl was founded in 1930 and rebuilt after Germany was devastated during World War II. It competes directly with Aldi, also a German company. Lidl uses some of Aldi’s concepts, such as warehouse shelving, self-service bagging and low prices.
In recent years, Lidl upgraded its business model with in-store bakeries and more branded merchandise. It is now described as similar to Kroger and Trader Joe’s. Lidl also advertises more than typical discount stores and has a customer rewards program. In Europe, it stocks its own casual clothing line.
In Lumberton, Lidl will compete with the Walmart superstore and neighborhood grocers, Food Lion, Fresh Foods IGA, Lowes Foods and Aldi.
