Lidl has committed to invest a record £15bn in British food suppliers and farming over the next five years.
The pledge came after the discounter revealed that it planned to increase sales of British sourced fresh meat, poultry and fresh produce by more than 10% over the next 12 months.
Other initiatives from Lidl being introduced to improve support of its local suppliers include longer-term contracts that aim to give them certainty and allow them to invest longer term to develop their business.
A young farmers programme will also look to “support new talent” in the farming industry.
Ryan McDonnell, Chief Commercial Officer at Lidl GB, said: “As our business continues to grow, it’s vital that our suppliers remain at the heart of our growth plans. Our business is only ever as good as our suppliers’, so our investments and commitments are key to ensuring that they can invest and expand with us.
“Our long-term partnerships with farmers are all the more important during economic uncertainty, and with 2019 marking our 25th anniversary, we are more committed than ever to supporting our suppliers here in Britain.”
The company currently operates a network of over 770 stores with it on track to open around 50 new outlets this year.
Latest grocery market share figures from Kantar for 12 weeks to 6 October showed Lidl’s revenues had grown 8.2% year-on-year, boosted by sales of branded goods which grew twice as quickly.
NAM Implications:
- Only issue is what Lidl (and Aldi?) will do when cheap product comes in from the US and Brazil and undercuts all the UK production.
- The products will look the same and core consumers will probably not understand all the differences…
- …but they will understand price…
