Lidl will open its 1,000th store in the UK next week, on Thursday, in East Grinstead, Sussex. The milestone has been reached 31 years after the German discounter made its debut in the country, and comes at a time when it is the UK’s fastest-growing grocery retailer.
As part of celebrations to mark the landmark opening, the discounter is giving away 1,000 kits online for its customers to make a gingerbread version of its latest Lidl store. Ten of the kits will also contain £100 in Lidl Plus vouchers.
Joanna Gomer, Marketing Director at Lidl GB, said: “Reaching our 1,000th UK store is a huge milestone for Lidl, and we want to celebrate in a way that everyone across the country can enjoy.
“Our gingerbread houses have been a customer favourite, so we mixed things up a bit by creating a special kit that not only showcases our new East Grinstead store but also captures the fun and festive spirit of the season.”
After posting a jump in annual profits last month, Lidl GB revealed that it wanted to accelerate its store opening programme to continue winning market share from its rivals.
With it poised to overtake Morrisons to become the fifth largest grocer in the UK, the discounter’s Chief Executive Ryan McDonnell said that he saw an opportunity for “hundreds more stores”.
Lidl is on track to open 40 new sites in its current financial year. “40 is a good run rate and that sort of would set a benchmark for upcoming years,”
McDonnell said, while declining to put a ceiling on Lidl’s store ambitions in the UK. Aldi has previously stated that it has a long-term target of 1,500 sites.
NamNews Implications:
- To think, how much the discounters have achieved in 31 years in the UK!
- A retail format ‘made’ for uncertain times…
- (with a probable Morrisons psychological ‘hammer blow’ to come)
- A break with traditional, sophisticated UK retailing.
- A model still alien to some.
- Now in a position where suppliers have to have a good reason for ignoring this route to consumer…
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