Lidl celebrates fiftieth anniversary

By: Trademagazin editor Date: 2023. 05. 19. 09:24

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In 50 years, Lidl grew from one store to a network of 12,000 discount stores in 32 countries. The discounter celebrates its birthday exuberantly in its home market but also faces major challenges.

Lidl’s first branch opened in 1973, in Ludwigshafen-Mundenheim. Today, the retailer has some 400,000 employees in 12,000 stores in 32 countries. Together, they realise sales of more than 100 billion euros. Over the past decade, that turnover even doubled. In Germany, the discounter now employs more than 100,000 colleagues.

Continuing that success story is the big challenge for the retailer, which achieves more than 66% of its turnover outside Germany. Almost the whole of Europe is now covered. In the US, expansion is slow. International growth is therefore slowing down a little, according to the latest figures, but the discounter is gaining market share in most countries and margins are holding up. Digitalisation is a challenge: the Lidl Plus app is being rolled out in more and more countries but ordering food online or having it delivered is not yet an option for Lidl customers.

In Germany, Lidl is celebrating the anniversary with strong promotional actions and a major campaign under the slogan “50 years more than cheap”. “We have always stayed true to our discount DNA. For 50 years it has been our claim as a reliable local supplier to offer our customers excellent quality, freshness and a wide variety of everyday products at the usual favourable Lidl price,” said Christian Härtnagel, CEO of Lidl in Germany in a press release.

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