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Germany: The Schwarz Group companies record positive development in FY 2024 and increase its investments

Discount Retail Chain Lidl`s mother company the Schwarz Group are tackling global challenges. From production and trading to recycling and digitalization, they further expanded their strong market position in the 2024 financial year. Across all business segments, they generated total sales of 175.4 billion euros. This corresponds to a sales increase of 4.9 percent compared to the previous year. Despite the tense global economic situation, around 20,000 new jobs were created in the Group along the entire value chain – around 4,000 of them in Germany. This means that the companies of the Schwarz Group employ around 595,000 people worldwide.


Diversity as a strength: Sustainable growth

As reliable local suppliers, Lidl and Kaufland attach great importance to proximity to their customers. They have therefore expanded their branch network by around 300 new branches to a total of around 14,200 branches. The strong retail core is holding its own in a dynamic market environment: Lidl increased store sales by 5.3 percent to 132.1 billion euros compared to the previous year. With sales of 35.2 billion euros, Kaufland achieved 2.9 percent growth. Total online sales amounted to 1.7 billion euros and are thus at the level of the previous year, in line with the market development.


PreZero continues to pursue the goal of a reliable circular economy in order to reduce avoidable waste to zero, conserve natural resources and maximize recycling. With the "Road to Zero Waste" initiative, the environmental division is supporting more and more companies and sports clubs on this path to a clean future. And with success: PreZero increased sales by 5.4 percent to 3.9 billion euros, among other things due to the increased volume in the recycling trade and expanded market shares in the dual system in Germany.


The manufacturing companies of the Schwarz Group ensure a reliable supply of goods even in times of global challenges. They delivered goods worth 4.6 billion euros, mainly to Lidl and Kaufland. This corresponds to an increase of 9.5 percent compared to the previous year. Production capacities were further expanded, among other things, through the operation of the new nut roasting plant in Rheine and the beverage plant in Derby (Great Britain), the first international production site of Schwarz Produktion.


In the digital age, Schwarz Digits guarantees the greatest possible sovereignty for a sustainable economy and society. The solutions in the areas of cloud, cyber security, artificial intelligence, communication and workplace ensure the digital independence of the ecosystem of the Schwarz Group companies. In addition, external partners and customers benefit from the company's expertise and services, as evidenced by strong partnerships with Google, ServiceNow and SAP. Thanks in part to the offer of STACKIT and XM Cyber, the IT and digital division, which was newly founded in the previous financial year, kept its revenue stable at EUR 1.9 billion, in line with its still short business activity.


As one of the world's largest retail groups, the companies of the Schwarz Group recognize their responsibility to improve the lives of current and future generations. Despite the volatile global economic situation, they increased their investments by 7.5 percent to €8.6 billion in the 2024 fiscal year of which €3.3 billion was in Germany. They invested primarily in branch expansion and the expansion of warehouse locations, as well as in the capacity of their data centers in Europe. For the current 2025 fiscal year, they are increasing their investments to €9.6 billion, of which €3.7 billion is in Germany.


"The successful 2024 financial year of the Schwarz Group companies is primarily based on the tireless commitment and outstanding commitment of our employees. Together, we are shaping the future of our group of companies and working on innovative solutions for the challenges of tomorrow," says Gerd Chrzanowski, General Partner of the Schwarz Group. "As a result, we were able to grow sustainably together in all divisions even in a time of global uncertainty and continue to invest in Germany as a business location and a digitally sovereign Europe."


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