Lidl

Image:Lidl Bijlmerplein, Amsterdam-Zuidoost (2021) 04.jpg, Netherlands]]

In 1930, Josef Schwarz became a partner in a company based in Heilbronn named Südfrüchte Großhandlung Lidl & Co. which had been established by Anton Lidl since at least 1858 under the name A.Lidl & Cie specialising in the sale of exotic fruits. Schwarz renamed the company Lidl & Schwarz KG and expanded into a food wholesaler.{{cite web |url=https://www.bilan.ch/entreprises-les-plus-de-la-redaction/lidl-le-casseur-de-prix-qui-paie-bien |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402115154/http://www.bilan.ch/entreprises-les-plus-de-la-redaction/lidl-le-casseur-de-prix-qui-paie-bien |date=24 November 2013 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |first=Emmanuel |last=Grandjean |language=fr |title=Lidl, le casseur de prix qui paie bien |work=Bilan |trans-title=Lidl, the discounter who pays well |publisher=Bilan}}{{cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/zu-zweideutig-so-sollte-der-discounter-lidl-urspruenglich-heissen-2017-3/ |first=Felix |last=Rentzsch |date=1 March 2017 |language=de |title=Zu zweideutig: So sollte Lidl ursprünglich heißen |trans-title=Too ambiguous: This is what Lidl was originally supposed to be called |publisher=Business Insider}}

In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, the Schwarz Group began to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry wholesale markets. Dieter did not want to use the name Schwarz-Markt (literally "black market") and wanted to use the name of his father's former business partner, A. Lidl, but legal reasons prevented him from using that name for his discount stores. When he discovered a newspaper article about a painter and retired schoolteacher Ludwig Lidl, he bought the rights to the name from him for 1,000 German marks.{{cite web|url=http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/karriere/a-288662-3.html|title=Aldis Erzfeind|date=2 March 2004 |language=de|access-date=4 March 2017}}{{cite web |first=Jochen |last=Schuster| title=Der Geheimnia-Krämer | website=Focus Magazin | date=15 June 2017 | url=https://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/der-geheimnis-kraemer-portraet_id_2797025.html | language=de}}

Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, the fifth-largest retailer in the world with sales of €104.3 billion (2018).{{Cite web|url=https://www.retaildetail.eu/en/news/food/record-turnover-lidl-owner-over-100-billion-euros|title=Record turnover for Lidl owner: over 100 billion euros|date=13 May 2019|website=RetailDetail}}

The first Lidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi concept.{{cite news |last=Weymouth |first=Lauren |date=23 August 2017 |title=Secrets of the German supermarkets conquering America (24 slides) |url=https://www.lovemoney.com/galleries/66867/secrets-of-the-german-supermarkets-conquering-america?page=1 |access-date=6 March 2019 |work=LoveMoney}} Schwarz rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from the shelves, and cut costs by keeping the size of the retail outlets as small as possible. By 1977, the Lidl chain comprised 33 discount stores.

Lidl opened its first UK store in 1994.{{Cite news|date=2018-02-15|title=Lidl opens its 700th store in the UK|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43069631|access-date=2021-08-24}} Its grocery market share in the UK was 8.1% at the end of 2024.https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2025/03/asda-market-share.html

Sven Seidel was appointed CEO of the company in March 2014, after the previous CEO Karl-Heinz Holland stepped down.{{cite web| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-03-21/german-grocer-lidl-names-replacement-ceo-after-holland-departure| title=German Grocer Lidl Names Replacement CEO After Holland Departure| first=Aaron| last=Ricadela| date=21 March 2014| publisher=Bloomberg Business| access-date=15 February 2017}} Holland had served as chief executive since 2008 but left due to undisclosed "unbridgeable" differences over future strategy. Seidel stepped down from his position in February 2017 after Manager Magazin reported he had fallen out of favour with Klaus Gehrig, who has headed the Schwarz Group since 2004. Seidel was succeeded as CEO by Dane Jesper Højer, previously head of Lidl's international buying operation.{{cite web| url=http://retailanalysis.igd.com/Hub.aspx?id=23&tid=3&nid=15338| title=Lidl replaces CEO after less than three years | first=Emma| last=Thomasson| date=7 February 2017| publisher=Retail Analysis| access-date=15 February 2017}}

In June 2015, the company announced it would establish a United States headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcauliffe-bags-german-grocer-lidl-bringing-hundreds-of-jobs-to-virginia/2015/06/12/0e97704e-1121-11e5-adec-e82f8395c032_story.html|title=McAuliffe bags German grocer Lidl, bringing hundreds of jobs to Virginia|first=Laura|last=Vozzella|date=12 June 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post}} Lidl has major distribution centers in Mebane, North Carolina, and Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The company initially focused on opening locations in East Coast states, between Pennsylvania and Georgia,Thomasson, Emma. "[https://www.yahoo.com/news/german-discounter-lidl-starts-hiring-u-store-launch-161302032--finance.html?ref=gs German discounter Lidl starts hiring for U.S. stores launch]". Reuters. Yahoo! News. 13 December 2016. and as far west as Ohio.{{cite web|url=http://wytv.com/2017/04/18/german-based-grocery-store-wants-to-build-at-site-of-austintown-bar/|title=German-based grocery store wants to build at site of Austintown bar|work=wytv.com|date=18 April 2017|access-date=3 June 2017}}{{Cite news |last=Watson |first=Elaine |date=9 July 2017 |title=Lidl's US stores break European mold, says Bernstein: 'This is not a copy and paste approach' |url=https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2017/07/10/Lidl-s-US-stores-break-European-mold-says-Bernstein |access-date=3 January 2018 |work=foodnavigator-usa.com |language=en-GB}} In June 2017, Lidl opened its first stores in the United States in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and other mid-Atlantic cities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/lidl-opens-first-us-stores-new-era-food-retail-begins|title=Lidl opens first U.S. stores as new era in food retail begins|date=15 June 2017|work=Supermarket News|access-date=21 November 2018}} The company planned to open a total of one hundred U.S. stores by the summer of 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-03/amazon-gets-the-headlines-but-lidl-is-still-the-grocer-to-watch|title=The Germans Are Escalating America's Grocery Price War|date=3 January 2018|work=Bloomberg.com|access-date=3 January 2018}} In November 2018, Lidl announced plans to acquire 27 Best Market stores in New York and New Jersey.{{Cite news|url=https://www.daytondailynews.com/business/german-grocer-lidl-acquire-grocery-stores/mO3ouC3jJl3Qw5nrCgGqpJ/|title=German grocer Lidl to acquire 27 grocery stores|work=daytondailynews|access-date=21 November 2018}} In December 2018, Lidl opened its first location in New York City, in the Staten Island Mall. The company continued to expand throughout the eastern U.S., with over 100 stores by the end of 2020. In August 2020, Lidl announced that it planned to open up another 50 stores in the U.S. by the end of 2021.{{Cite web |last=Redman |first=Russell |date=2020-08-25 |title=Lidl powers up U.S. expansion with another 50 stores |url=https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/lidl-powers-us-expansion-another-50-stores |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Supermarket News |language=en}} As of 2024 there were 173 stores in the US.{{Cite web |title=Number of Lidl stores in the United States from 2019 to 2024 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1341935/number-of-lidl-stores-us/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Statista |language=en}}

In April 2022, Lidl postponed its expansion in Ukraine due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite web|url=https://ubn.news/lidl-decides-not-to-open-supermarkets-in-ukraine-for-now/|title=Lidl decides not to open supermarkets in Ukraine for now.|date=25 April 2022 |publisher=ubn.news|access-date=26 April 2022}}

In 2021, Lidl planned to phase out the selling of cigarettes in all its Dutch stores by 2024 as part of the 'smoke-free generation'.{{Cite web |date=2021-10-01 |title=Lidl to stop selling cigarettes, over two years ahead of national ban |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2021/10/lidl-to-stop-selling-cigarettes-over-two-years-ahead-of-national-ban/ |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=DutchNews.nl |language=en-GB}}

The key trends for Lidl are (as of the financial year ending February 28{{Cite web |date=2023-10-03 |title=Gewinneinbruch bei Lidl |url=https://www.foodaktuell.ch/2023/10/03/gewinneinbruch-bei-lidl/ |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=foodaktuell |language=de-DE}}):

The principles of Dieter Schwarz: No photo - No interview - No statement about the profit - No money leaves the company.

{{more citations needed section|date=September 2015}}

File:Lidl Map.svg

File:Lidl entrecampos.jpg railway station, Lisbon]]

File:Lidl US.png,
South Carolina, United States]]

Like fellow German supermarket Aldi, Lidl has a zero waste,{{Cite web|url=https://www.abettertomorrow-lidl.ie/environment/#recycling-waste-management|title=Environment - Lidl}} no-frills, "pass-the-savings-to-the-consumer" approach of displaying most products in their original delivery cartons, allowing the customers to take the product directly from the carton. When the carton is empty, it is simply replaced with a full one. Staffing is low.{{cite web |last=Hanbury |first=Mary |date=2 July 2017 |title=How Lidl keeps its prices low |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/how-lidl-keeps-its-prices-down-2017-6/ |work=Business Insider}}

Compared to Aldi, there are generally more branded products offered. Lidl distributes many low-priced gourmet foods by producing each of them in a single European Union country for its whole worldwide chain, but it also sources many local products from the country where the store is located. Like Aldi, Lidl has special weekly offers, and its stock of non-food items often changes. In contrast to Aldi, Lidl advertises extensively in its homeland of Germany.

Like Aldi, Lidl does not play mood music in most countries, including Germany.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} Lidl stores have PA systems for important announcements but (with the exception of Hungary and Bulgaria) do not broadcast commercials.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The Lidl operation in the United Kingdom took a different approach from Germany, with a focus on marketing and public relations, and providing employee benefits not required by law, including paying the independently verified living wage and offering a staff discount.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/24/lidl-to-give-lowest-paid-staff-pay-rise-to-845-an-hour|title=Lidl to give lowest-paid staff pay rise to £8.45 an hour|last=Butler|first=Sarah|date=24 November 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=19 September 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} Upmarket products were introduced, especially in the lead-up to Christmas. This required significant investment in marketing to produce sales growth but had an effect on Lidl's logistical operation and pressure on profits. Ronny Gottschlich, who had run Lidl GB for the six years to 2016, was responsible for this approach, which led to friction with head office, due to the cost involved. In September 2016, Gottschlich unexpectedly left and was replaced by the Austrian sales and operations director, German-national Christian Härtnagel.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/09/lidl-uk-md-ronny-gottschlich-leaves- |title=Lidl UK boss unexpectedly leaves German supermarket |newspaper=The Guardian |date=10 September 2016|first=Sarah|last=Butler|access-date=10 September 2016}} Lidl continued to have ambitious investment plans in the United Kingdom, doubling the number of stores to 1,500. In the financial year 2015, Lidl Great Britain's revenue from its over 630 stores throughout Britain was £4.7 billion.

File:Somain_-_Lidl_(01).JPG, France]]

File:6406488-Lidl Santorini-0.jpg, Greece]]

File:Lidl Tauberbischofsheim, Pestalozziallee 29, 97941 Tauberbischofsheim.jpg, Germany]]

File:Lidl Fuengirola.jpg, Spain]]

File:Bodmin, Lidl - geograph.org.uk - 4992192.jpg, United Kingdom]]

File:Lidl amadora.jpg, Portugal]]

File:Uherský Brod, Lidl.jpg, Czech Republic]]

File:Lidl Tuirantie 14 Oulu 20240114 02.jpg, Finland]]

File:Lidl Charging Station for electric cars in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland.jpg]]

{{As of |2025}}, Lidl has a presence with stores in 31 countries.

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| {{Cite web |title=Limassol store launch brings Lidl's global network to 12,000 {{!}} Cyprus Mail |url=https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/07/28/new-limassol-store-launch-brings-lidls-global-network-to-12000/ |access-date=2022-10-29 |website=cyprus-mail.com/ |date=28 July 2022 |language=en-GB}}

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File:Supermarché_Lidl_Rue_Roger_Salengro_Fontenay_Bois_5.jpg

File:Silvercrest multi slicer.jpg

In October 2009, Lidl Movies was launched in the United Kingdom,{{cite web |url=http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/10/lidl-supermarket-starts-cheap-dvd-rental-service-187138.jsp |title=Latest News – Which? News |publisher=Which.co.uk |access-date=19 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217173015/http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/10/lidl-supermarket-starts-cheap-dvd-rental-service-187138.jsp |archive-date=17 December 2009 |url-status=dead }} undercutting Tesco DVD Rental, which had previously been the United Kingdom's cheapest online rental service for DVDs. The service was powered by OutNow DVD Rental. OutNow went into liquidation in October 2011, taking Lidl Movies with it.{{cite web|last1=Kukiewicz|first1=Julia|title=OutNow: A Look Back|url=https://www.choose.co.uk/guide/outnow-dvd-rental-history.html|website=choose.co.uk|date=28 February 2013|access-date=7 February 2015}}

In January 2012, Lidl launched bakeries in their stores across Europe. They consist of a small baking area with a number of ovens, together with an area where bread and pastries, such as croissants, are displayed for sale. The bakeries were initially trialed in a limited number of stores, to determine whether there was a demand for freshly baked products in-store.{{Cite web|url=https://www.talkingretail.com/news/industry-news/lidl-launches-home-baking-range-in-time-for-national-baking-week-12-10-2012/|title=Lidl launches home baking range in time for National Baking Week|author=Staff Writer|date=2012-10-12|website=Talking Retail|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-13}}

The mobile phone brand Lidl Connect was launched in Germany in October 2015 and in Austria and Switzerland in June and July 2019.

In August 2018, Lidl introduced its "Lidl Plus" supermarket loyalty card via an app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The app is available in most European countries where Lidl operates, offering discounts on own brand products and on partner offers. In several countries, the app also has a bonus program with cashback.

As of May 2019, Lidl US has partnered with Boxed.com to test a home delivery service using the online retailer's technology. Lidl also partners with Target Corporation's subsidiary Shipt for grocery home delivery.{{cite web |last=Sorvino |first=Chloe |date=15 May 2019 |title=Boxed Partners With Grocery Chain Lidl: Exclusive |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2019/05/15/boxed-partners-with-grocery-chain-lidl-exclusive/#4a4c9d711412 |access-date=17 May 2019 |website=Forbes}}

Lidl also runs Representative Offices in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh, though there is no mention of Lidl stores opening there. Their operations are likely limited to overseeing manufacturing contracts for most of non-food products, offered in Lidl stores, with local manufacturers based in these countries.

In April 2021, Lidl in Ireland started offering customers coupons for free pads or tampons each month as an initiative against period poverty.{{Cite web |last=Woodyatt |first=Amy |date=20 April 2021 |title=Lidl Ireland becomes first major retailer to offer free period products |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/20/business/lidl-ireland-period-products-intl-scli/index.html |access-date=2021-04-20 |website=CNN}}

In March 2023, Lidl was announced as the sponsor of the 2023 World Cycling Championship held in Scotland.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=George |date=2023-03-07 |title=Lidl, sponsor of the 2023 Cycling World Cup in Scotland |url=https://sportsfinding.com/lidl-sponsor-of-the-2023-cycling-world-cup-in-scotland/172597/ |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=Sports Finding |language=en-GB}}

{{criticism section|date=February 2025}}

In 2008, Lidl was accused by journalists of spying on their workers, listening to private phone calls, and sometimes even following them home or to doctor's appointments.{{cite web |last=Connolly |first=Kate |date=2008-03-27 |title=German supermarket chain Lidl accused of snooping on staff |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/27/germany.supermarkets |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=The Guardian}} In one instance, an employee's file was supposedly annotated to note that most of her friends were "drug users". Lidl responded to these claims, stating that the surveillance was intended to prevent shoplifting, and to detect "abnormal behavior".

In 2017, Lidl was accused by trade unions in Germany of shutting down stores when workers elect worker councils or opt to engage in collective bargaining with a trade union.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Debra |date=2017-11-03 |title=The Untold Truth Of Lidl |url=https://www.mashed.com/94133/untold-truth-lidl/ |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=Mashed.com |language=en-US}}

In October 2022, animal welfare NGOs across Europe accused Lidl of a 'chicken scandal'. Investigation footage filmed on a Lidl supplier's farm in Germany showed sick and injured chickens unable to walk and lying in their own waste.{{cite news |last1=Crossland |first1=David |last2=Ellson |first2=Andrew |title=Chickens 'left to die' at Lidl supplier in Germany |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/chickens-left-to-die-at-lidl-supplier-in-germany-jgx5823x2 |access-date=2024-07-11 |issn=0140-0460 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240712071327/https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/chickens-left-to-die-at-lidl-supplier-in-germany-jgx5823x2 |archive-date=2024-07-12 |url-status=live}} Further investigations in Italy and Austria also revealed severe chicken welfare issues. In the Austrian investigation footage, birds were seen attempting to eat the rotting carcasses of other dead chickens.{{cite web |title=Lidl's chicken scandal |url=https://www.lidlchickenscandal.com/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |publisher=Albert Schweitzer Foundation}} The chickens in the footage are fast-growing breeds, which reach their kill weight in just 35 days and have higher levels of mortality, lameness and muscle disease than slower-growing breeds.{{cite news |last=Siddique |first=Haroon |date=2022-09-21 |title=UK government faces court challenge over 'Frankenchickens' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/21/uk-government-court-challenge-legality-frankenchickens |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=The Guardian}} NGOs have called on the supermarket to sign up to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), a set of welfare standards which prohibits the use of fast-growing breeds and requires the provision of more space and enrichment for chickens. While Lidl France already committed to the BCC in 2020, Lidl have so far not made a commitment for the rest of their European operations.

In 2023, amid a widespread boycott movement against Israeli businesses and products, Lidl stores faced criticism after several customers in France and Belgium complained that the store mislabeled products of Israeli origin as originating from other countries, such as Morocco.{{cite news |last=Kasraoui |first=Safaa |date=10 November 2023 |title=Supermarket in France Mislabels Israeli Products as Moroccan to Dodge Boycott |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/11/358880/supermarket-in-france-mislabels-israeli-products-as-moroccan-to-dodge-boycott |access-date=24 April 2024 |publisher=Morocco World News}} The Lidl group attributed the issue to a display error. According to the General Directorate of Competition, Consumption & Repression of Frauds (DGCCRF), which oversees the legality and safety of products and services in France, "food presented for sale must offer clear and precise labelling in order to better inform the consumer".{{Cite news |title=International retail chain 'Lidl' accused of hiding origin of Israel-imported products with 'Morocco' label |url=https://en.hespress.com/74306-international-retail-chain-lidl-accused-of-hiding-the-origin-of-israel-imported-products-with-a-morocco-label.html |newspaper=HESPRESS English – Morocco News |date=2023-11-10|author=Hiba El Bouchtaoui}}

{{Reflist}}

• US {{Official website|url=https://www.lidl.com}}
• UK {{Official website|url=https://www.lidl.co.uk}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050106141303/http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/55/55154.html Yahoo! — Lidl & Schwarz Stiftung & Co. KG Company Profile]

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