Lidl announces £15 BILLION investment in its UK supermarkets over next five years as firm vows to sell more British meat and fresh produce
- Lidl has stepped up its attack on big-four supermarkets with new investment
- It is opening up to 60 stores over the next year as it ploughs in £15billion
Lidl is stepping up its assault on the so-called ‘big four’ British supermarkets after announcing it will plough a further £15billion into its UK business in the next five years.
It emerged yesterday that Tesco, Sainbury’s, Asda and Morrisons now hold just 62.7% share of the market, their lowest combined figure in 15 years.
The budget insurgents into the market, Lidl and Aldi, now have a 6% and 8% share respectively, which they are aggressively trying to increase.
Lidl has announced it is opening 50 to 60 new stores this year and is spending £500million in London alone over the next five years as it tries to take on smaller high street stores.
Lidl will plough £15billion into its British business in the next five years as its assault on the so-called ‘big four’ supermarkets continues
Bosses today also pledged to increase sales of British sourced fresh meat, poultry and fresh produce by more than 10% across the next 12 months and introduce longer contracts with suppliers to provide stability.
The decision follows a recent commitment from Lidl to source 100% of its fresh poultry from UK farms.
Last week bosses also unveiled a new £70 million warehouse in Motherwell, Scotland, and on Tuesday it was revealed that sales grew 8.2% in the 12 weeks to October 6 compared with a year ago, according to Kantar.
Lidl has also confirmed it is planning to move into online sales, after it was spotted trying to recruit a digital project manager.
Speaking today, Lidl’s chief commercial officer Ryan McDonnell said: ‘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 and offering customers British-sourced products in the future.’
In March 2017, the discount supermarket also signed the National Farmers’ Union’s Back British Farming Charter and has spent several years playing up its British credentials.
Tom Hulme, who runs AC Hulme & Sons, which has been Lidl’s main supplier of apples and pears for more than 10 years, said: ‘We wouldn’t have even contemplated upgrading our packhouse if it wasn’t for our confidence in Lidl’s future custom.
‘The company has stayed true to its word with its growing orders over the years, giving us certainty in an industry that faces many uncertainties – like the British weather.’
Lidl opened its first UK store in 1994 and now has 760 stores and 13 warehouses across the country.
Lidl is advertising for a digital project manager who will be tasked with ‘helping to deliver a new online platform with the aim of acquiring new customers and driving online sales’