UK: Lidl to reach 1,000 stores by the end of 2025

Discount Retail Chain Lidl UK is preparing to open its 1,000th UK store in November this year, 31 years after opening its first. The discounter staged a parliamentary breakfast attended by 40 MPs to highlight the “huge milestone”. Lidl currently has more than 980 UK stores, having already added at least 10 new ones so far this year.

Lidl UK reported: "Later this year, we'll be opening our 1,000th store in Great Britain - a huge milestone. Beyond the number, it reflects just how embedded Lidl is in communities up and down the country".

This milestone is a slightly delay of its 1,000 UK store target was set to reach by 2023 as DRC published in 07/2020, see this article: UK: Lidl targets 1,000 stores

The delay in reaching the 1,000-store milestone was due to a strategic shift in 2023, where Lidl scaled back store openings (from ~50 annually to 25) to focus on warehouse capacity investments, including a major distribution center in Luton. Higher interest rates faced by Lidl’s parent company, Lidl Stiftung.

By 2024, Lidl accelerated its expansion again, opening 10 stores before Christmas 2024 and nine in February 2025, aligning with their revised timeline to hit 1,000 stores in November 2025. They also secured a £70m deal to sell and lease back 12 stores under construction, boosting their expansion. Lidl’s long-term goal is now 1,500 UK.

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