Lidl in expansion mode after record holiday sales
Supermarket chain Lidl announced record sales over the festive season on Wednesday, with a 10% increase year-on-year for the 2016 holidays.
The Wimbledon-based limited assortment discounter (LAD), part of the German retail giant Lidl Stiftung & Co, said sales of its ‘Pick of the Week’ fresh produce - carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts and potatoes - increased by 60%.
Marketing had a part to play, with turkey sales up 40% following a “bold advertising campaign”, and more than 40,000 MSC-certified lobsters sold in one day following an “innovative social media campaign”.
Sales of prosecco reportedly doubled.
Lidl said its focus remained on saving customers money, with ongoing expansion plans in 2017.
“It’s incredibly encouraging that, during this highly competitive time, we have achieved our most successful festive trading period ever, following a year-on-year sales increase of 10%,” said Lidl UK CEO Christian Härtnagel.
Härtnagel had barely been in the job three months when the Christmas period hit, having been drafted in from Austria upon the sudden and unexpected departure of long-serving Lidl UK boss Ronny Gottschlich in September.
“We are unwaveringly committed to helping customers save as much money as possible, and became the first supermarket to use our social media channels to put our prices into the public’s hands.”
Härtnagel said staff across the business continued to do a “phenomenal job” as the firm experienced unparalleled demand, and he was proud to have once again become the first supermarket to announce an increase in salaries, matching the Living Wage Foundation’s recommended rate.
“Going into 2017 we are absolutely focused on saving our customers more money than ever before, which we will be demonstrating through our brand new ‘Big on Quality, Lidl on Price’ campaign.
“We also remain fully committed to our ongoing expansion plans, which will see the opening of up to 50 new stores next year, along with two new regional distribution centres, creating thousands of new jobs up and down the country.”
Lidl, alongside fellow German LAD Aldi, has created headaches for bosses at the UK ‘big four’ supermarkets in recent years, snatching market share from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
The smaller of the two German chains, Lidl currently has over 600 supermarkets trading in the United Kingdom, with plans for up to 1,500.