Lidl GB has today opened its 100th store in London in Beckton, reaffirming its commitment to maintaining the same low prices in all locations across London as it does nationwide, taking on the established supermarket convenience offering.
The discounter has also revealed plans to open 30 new stores in the capital by the end of 2023 creating around 1,400 jobs, helping to meet demand in London locations that do not have access to Lidl’s discount offering.
Regardless of the size and format of its stores in London, Lidl will continue to offer the best value to customers, helping to combat the convenience-effect of higher prices in the city.
Lidl GB Chief Executive Officer Christian Härtnagel said: “Our 100th store opening today means that more Londoners than ever can shop for high quality food at Lidl prices. We are committed to never being beaten on price and pride ourselves in offering our customers the same prices for their groceries up and down the country, no matter where their local store is.”
Lidl’s strategy for London involves being increasingly flexible on the type of sites needed for new stores, whether that be on the high street, retail parks, shopping centres or mixed-use sites.
The discounter is embracing mixed-use sites to help support the creation of new homes and office space, as well as encouraging other retail and leisure businesses into local areas. Lidl’s new store in Richmond – currently under construction – will have a school located above it, providing Deer Park primary school with a permanent home after they spent nearly two years searching for a suitable site.
Lidl GB Chief Development Officer Ingo Fischer added: “We’re embracing the wide range of locations that London has to offer to help meet customer demand. With plans in place for more stores across the capital we look forward to welcoming many more customers through our doors whilst continuing to identify and secure new sites that do not currently benefit from a discount offering.”
The new store openings form part of Lidl’s commitment to expansion in London, part of a £500m investment plan for the capital over the next five years. The construction on its new head office in Tolworth, south west London, is continuing. With 250,000 sq. ft. of office space, the building will accommodate the retailer’s 800 head office colleagues, providing support for its growing store network. Colleagues working in the recently-opened London stores will benefit from Lidl’s competitive wages, starting from £10.75 per hour with the potential to go up to £11.70 per hour within the M25, making Lidl colleagues some of the highest paid in the sector.
Work is also ongoing at its distribution centres in Belvedere and Luton, which will serve Lidl’s growing store estate in Greater London. This follows Lidl’s national expansion announcement in July, revealing that the discounter will open 25 new stores by Christmas this year and a target to have 1000 stores in Great Britain by the end of 2023.
