Lidl has revealed plans to significantly expand its operations in London, a market currently dominated by Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
The discounter has earmarked £500m to invest over the next five years in the capital, where it has been under-represented since opening its first stores in the UK back in 1994. This will include the opening of 40 new stores with the retailer set to shortly unveil its most central London store on Tottenham Court Road.
Other locations include Alperton, East Acton, Hackbridge and Watford, creating around 1,500 new jobs in the capital.
The plans include the opening a new warehouse in Luton and the expansion of its Belvedere distribution centre. Lidl is also currently building a new head office in Tolworth, south west London.
Lidl’s UK Chief Executive Christian Härtnagel said: “It’s coming up to 25 years since we first launched in London, and in that time we’ve grown to almost 90 stores, employing more than 5,000 people.
“London is at the heart of our growth plans across Great Britain, and we are proud to be in a position where we’re continuing to create new jobs.”
Lidl’s Chief Development Officer Ingo Fischer added: “We are incredibly excited about our plans to open a new Lidl store on Tottenham Court Road, right in the heart of London.
“This comes as a direct result of continued customer demand for the Lidl offering across the capital, and joins a pipeline of new stores planned for the near future.”
Lidl currently has 760 stores and 13 warehouses across the UK.
Irene Bodega, Insight Analyst at Edge by Ascential, commented: “Discounters are experiencing a huge increase in popularity as more and more shoppers move away from wide product ranges to favouring lower prices – also thanks to the climate of uncertainty we are living in. Convenience is also a key factor when it comes to grocery shopping, in particular for people living in the capital who are often short of time. However, this tends to come at a higher price. If Lidl wants to meet the growing demand for lower prices in the capital it needs to be conveniently located.
“Lidl’s expansion in the capital does not come as a surprise; Aldi opened its first ‘Local’ store (a smaller version of its regular store) in London in March. It’s clear that Lidl – which falls behind Aldi in terms of market share – is looking to step up its game and retaliate on the growing thirst for convenience in London, both in terms of lower prices and store proximity.”
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