NECKARSULM, BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG - U.S. expansion plans for Germany-based grocery chain Lidl are heating up with two North Carolina stores reportedly in the works.

Late last month, the Triad Business Journal reported that a 36,000 square foot Lidl store would be constructed in Lexington, North Carolina, according to the city council’s approved zoning permit. Another building permit, filed last week in another Triad city, Winston-Salem, shows a proposed location for a second Lidl store.

As we reported previously, Klaus Gehrig, CEO of Lidl’s parent company, Schwarz Group, had made statements in the German newspaper Heilbronner Stimme, which confirmed Lidl’s plans to enter the U.S. by 2018. With news of these two latest stores, it appears that the company may be on track to enter the country even sooner than that.

The zoning permit came from Bohler Engineering’s Ben Lazillota on behalf of MGP Retail Consulting, the development arm for Lidl. Meanwhile, the $2.5 million building permit, filed by David Farhat, the Director of Construction and Procurement for MGP, shows plans for a grocery store in Winston-Salem. MGP is also in negotiations with Alamance County officials on plans for a major distribution hub, according to the Triad Business Journal.

In an email to Triad Business Journal, MGP’s PR and Marketing Manager, John Froman, would not confirm these plans.

“As has been reported, Lidl is in the early stages of preparation to operate in the United States,” he said. “We are taking steps toward that effort. However, we are not able to comment on any particular transaction at this time.”

Lidl has been eyeing a U.S. expansion for quite some time, claiming a proposed 100 store rollout. In other recent news, the company has purchased a $56.6 million 217,500 square foot building in Arlington, Virginia that analysts believe will operate as its U.S. corporate headquarters.

Stay tuned as we continue to follow this retailer’s expansion into the U.S.

Lidl