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Aldi names Lidl in lawsuit against two ex-employees

Former Aldi staffers accused of passing trade secrets

Russell Redman

March 6, 2019

4 Min Read
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Aldi Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit charging two former employees with passing trade secrets to rival hard-discount grocer Lidl US.

In the complaint, filed March 1 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Aldi claims the ex-employees breached non-compete and non-disclosure agreements by accepting jobs at Lidl and then providing the company with proprietary, confidential trade information from Aldi.

Named as defendants in the suit are Bruna Maraccini, who most recently served as director of real estate for North Carolina and Virginia at Aldi; Colleen Savory, a real estate assistant for those regions at Aldi; and Arlington, Va.-based Lidl US.

In the document, Aldi describes Lidl as “Aldi’s direct competitor in the retail grocery industry.” Both retailers have parent companies based in Germany. Aldi’s U.S. headquarters is located in Batavia, Ill.

“At Aldi, we are dedicated to operating our business fairly and with integrity. Our business model and intellectual property are at the heart of our commitment to consistently offer customers high-quality products at the lowest prices, while at the same time creating rewarding careers for our devoted employees,” Aldi said in a statement on the lawsuit. “We welcome fair competition. However, where we believe anyone has taken measures to undercut our ability to compete fairly, we will take any and all necessary actions to stifle such attempts. As with most litigation, we will limit our comments to the judicial proceedings, as we believe that our complaint speaks for itself.”

Related:Competing with Aldi doesn’t come easy

A Lidl US spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Aldi alleges in the suit that 11-year employee Maraccini went to work for Lidl in violation of her non-compete agreement; took confidential, proprietary and/or trade secret information from Aldi — including real estate strategy maps and planned store locations — that she had agreed to return upon leaving the company; and enlisted Savory to steal Aldi information for use by Lidl.

Savory, a five-year Aldi employee, is accused of misappropriating Aldi trade information by sending it to Maraccini in her role at Lidl for use in competing with Aldi in North Carolina, and then accepting a job offer from Lidl in which she could put that information to use.

Meanwhile, Aldi claims Lidl conceded that it hired Maraccini in violation of her non-compete agreement and had knowledge that she possessed confidential, proprietary Aldi trade information. Aldi said it had issued a cease-and-desist order to both Maraccini and Lidl after being alerted to the situation by a former Lidl US employee.

Related:Lidl names chairman for U.S. operation

Aldi said in the complaint that it seeks a temporary restraining order and then a preliminary injunction against the defendants, as well as compensation, damages and the return of misappropriated data and property.

“If left unstopped, Maraccini and Savory will continue to use Aldi’s confidential information and trade secrets, thereby enabling Lidl to unfairly compete with Aldi in the highly competitive retail grocery industry,” Aldi stated in the document. “Aldi has and will suffer immediate and irreparable harm if Maraccini’s violation of her contractual obligations to Aldi and both Maraccini and Savory’s misappropriation of ALDI’s confidential information and trade secrets are not immediately enjoined.”

Competition has intensified in Aldi’s and Lidl’s current and prospective market areas as both companies look to drive rapid expansion.

Aldi is amid a five-year, $5 billion-plus expansion program that will remodel most of its locations by 2020 and grow the chain from more than 1,800 stores now to 2,200 by 2022. The chain, with locations in 35 states, also has launched a major product expansion that will broaden the selection of fresh food in stores by 40%.

Lidl has jumped back on the expansion path after launching its first U.S. stores in June 2017 and then shortly afterward downsizing its plans. The company initially planned to have 100 locations within a year but then scaled that back to about 50. Lidl has since reset its real estate strategy and grown to about 65 locations in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Delaware, New Jersey and New York. The chain is held in high regard by U.S. shoppers and, in late 2018, greatly expanded its footprint in the lucrative metro New York area with the acquisition of 27 Best Market stores, located primarily Long Island.

In the lawsuit, Aldi said it’s “recognized as Lidl’s biggest competitor in the retail grocery industry” and that real estate issues impacted Lidl’s U.S. expansion.

“Aldi and Lidl, which are similar in terms of format, private label and pricing and the markets in which they operate (including without limitation, Virginia and North Carolina) are direct competitors,” Aldi stated in the document. “Like Aldi, Lidl is also a retail grocer that expanded from Germany into the U.S. Lidl has not been able to achieve its stated expansion plans of 100 stores within the first year, in part, because of its real estate strategy.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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