Lidl set to open 40 new stores

by XPRESS, 12 June 2019

Discount giant, Lidl, has announced plans to open 40 new shops in south-east England.

The investment will be actioned over five years, and will cost £500million. It will include a new head office situated in London.

The huge investment will create around 1,500 jobs, a huge surge for the supermarket which has shot to popularity in recent years.

New store locations include; East Acton, Hackbridge and Central London.

Lidl arrived in the UK in 1994, and has since grown to 760 stores, employing over 22,500 people.

Traditional supermarkets have seen significant market shares drop. Although, the major players (Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Asda), still pull together two thirds of the UK's grocery spend.

Aldi and Lidl employ a different tactic; offering much lower prices but much less variety. It has al but forced major supermarkets to cut prices to avoid losing custom.

Sainsbury's and Asda attempted to merge in response to the increase in competition, however, the deal was blocked by the CMA (Competitions and Markets Authority). The CMA contested that the merge would lead to increased pricing for customers.

Tesco also responded to the competitive marketing by opening its own budget brand 'Jack's', but has only expanded to nine stores.

Emma Richardson