Lidl sales grow 11 per cent over Christmas period
Lidl UK saw an 11 per cent increase in sales over the Christmas period, outshining bigger supermarket rivals, its latest trading update revealed today.
The German discount supermarket group said it was the fastest growing bricks and mortar supermarket over the four weeks ending 29 December.
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It said the growth had been largely driven by an increase in alcohol sales, with beer, wine and spirits up 13 per cent.
Wine in particular was the fastest growing alcohol in the area, up 20 per cent.
“This was our 25th Christmas since first opening our doors in Britain, and what a Christmas it’s been, with more customers shopping at Lidl than ever before,” said Christian Härtnagel, chief executive of Lidl GB.
“The number of customers switching to us in the lead up to Christmas shows the continued appeal of the Lidl offer.”
Lidl said 23 December was its busiest trading day ever.
The company said it had seen an increase of £110m in revenue over the festive period with customers switching from other stores.
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It currently has 790 stores in the UK as well as 13 warehouses, but is planning to increase this to 1,000 stores by the end of 2023 with £1.45bn expansion.
Lidl is also trying to expand its presence in London and the South East and said it would invest £500m specifically on improving its presence in the capital.
Chief executive of Retail Economics, Richard Lim, said the growth “demonstrates consumers’ rapid migration towards discounters as the quality, range and overall proposition rivals the best in class”.
He said: “At the heart of their success has been their unwavering focus of building a distinct proposition around quality and value that differentiates them from other grocers.
“They have executed this effectively, consumers know exactly what they stand for and it has been embraced by a diverse array of households.”