WOODBRIDGE — German discount grocery stores Aldi and Lidl are expanding in the U.S., and now have a solid market share in Prince William and Stafford counties.
The stores are aggressive in their low price strategy. Retail behemoth Walmart CEO Greg Foran views Aldi as a viable competitor.
As the larger grocery chains and Amazon duke it out for the top spot, there’s a successful local grocer in Woodbridge who, for years, has worked to carve out a bit of the marketplace for itself and for its customers.
Carlos Castro founded and president of grocer Todos Supermarket, with locations in Dumfries and Woodbridge.
“It’s not just Lidl and Aldi- it’s everyone. The whole industry is under evolution.” Castro said.
Castro and his wife founded Todos in 1990. The name “Todos” means “everybody” in Spanish.
“We resisted the idea of going cheap,” Castro said. He tried to create a model that serves the different customer needs – such as reducing the number of products they carry so that they didn’t have duplicate products.
Castro said they want to put the emphasis on the products that people look for the most.
Castro said that they also modified the store’s floor plan, and raised their staff’s salaries to stay competitive. But the store has also reduced their advertising budget and instead put that to use in community outreach projects – things that “actually cater to the community,” Castro explained.
The company has increased involvement with non-profit organization HOLA (Hispanic Organization for Leadership & Action) and donates to local schools.
An example is its partnership with Fred M. Lynn Middle School in Woodbridge, nearby its Woodbridge location in Marumsco Plaza.
Since Lidl opened its first store in the Washington area on Sudley Manor Drive near Manassas in 2017, and other locations in Lake Ridge and Dumfries, business at Todos has “has increased” about 20% in the last year.
“Our changes have paid off,” Castro said.
Has Todos slashed prices to keep up with Aldi?
“In very few cases,” Castro said. “We are buying smarter,” he explained. Castro said that means taking advantage of promotions from suppliers and planning his pre-orders to have larger quantities in order to lower the price.
This has caused their payroll to go up by at least 20 percent, “… but we have to do whatever we have to do to stay ahead of the game.” Castro added, “We are all feeling the pinch.” That means he’s been cross-training his employees so that they can man the registers as well as run the post office and do money wires.
Todos has been carrying new items to respond to the competition as well, like its variety of produce, incorporating popular items such as arugula and baby kale leaves.
And unlike its price-slashing competitors, Todos also offers services like a post office, as well as independent businesses inside the store such as a barbershop, eyebrow threading salon, a specialty clothing shop, and a cell phone repair service. The independent businesses complement Todos’ business model.
