The secret of Lidl’s success: this is how the supermarket chain became the market leader from a low-cost discount store

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 11. 15. 12:23

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At a press conference organized on the occasion of Lidl Hungary’s 20th birthday, it presented the company’s results over two decades and the secret of its success. In the 2023 business year, the supermarket chain achieved more than HUF 1,100 billion in sales and is the market leader in the food retail sector for the fourth year in a row. In addition, with nearly 10,000 employees, it is the ninth largest employer in Hungary. As a key player in the domestic economy, the company contributed almost HUF 1,000 billion to the country’s budget.

Almost exactly 20 years ago, on November 18, 2004, Lidl started operating in Hungary. With 12 stores – Barcs, Békéscsaba, Csongrád, Dunaharaszti, Hódmezővásárhely, Kaposvár, Keszthely, Kisvárda, Mór, Szarvas, Szeged, Tapolca – it was then a tiny discount chain. However, thanks to dynamic growth, it already had 50 stores in the year following its opening, and in the past two decades it has become the country’s market-leading department store chain. The 200th store was opened last year in the capital on Budaörsi út, and this year 210 stores with more than 261,000 m2 of sales space are waiting for customers – of which all of the self-owned stores opened by the end of the 2023 business year are already EDGE green buildings qualified.

At the same time, the logistics network also gradually expanded, so that in addition to the first logistics center in Székesfehérvár, together with the warehouse base in Hejőkürt, Szigetszentmiklós and two years ago in Ecer, a warehouse network with a floor area of about 200,000 m2 ensures the continuous replenishment of the stores.