At Christmas, vulnerable families and the socially disadvantaged can benefit from surplus food from Lidl. On 23 December, volunteers will be able to pick up surplus food from Lidl, which is distributed through the Blue Cross' family network, drop-in centers and support services for children and young people. The German discount chain Lidl and the social aid organization Blue Cross have been working together since 2017 to reduce food waste in favor of giving an extra helping hand to families and the socially disadvantaged who do not have much to do well at Christmas. "We see it as our social responsibility to give a helping hand in the form of free food and groceries to some of the needy families and the socially disadvantaged at Christmas. Blue Cross and their many volunteers make a fantastic effort based on charity", says Jens Stratmann, CEO of Lidl. Christian Bjerre, who is general secretary of Blue Cross Denmark, says that surplus food at Christmas is a happy initiative that benefits many families and the socially disadvantaged. These are people who are under pressure on the economy and have difficulty managing. how to get through Christmas and the Christmas days. We greatly appreciate the collaboration with Lidl, which helps to create Christmas joy for both young and old. In addition to donating surplus food to the Blue Cross, the employees of Lidl also donate Christmas presents to the children in the Child's Blue House, which is the Blue Cross Denmark's support centers for children from homes with alcohol and drug abuse. See here for more: https://dagligvarehandlen.dk/lidl/lidl-donerer-overskudsmad-til-traengte-familier-og-socialt-udsatte-i-julen

Discount Retail Chain Lidl USA (owned by the German Schwarz Group) has announced an initiative to cut prices on select products in its U.S. stores. Beginning June 8 and running through August, the retailer will roll out its price-cutting campaign on more than 100 items ranging from meat and frozen prepared foods to household products. The largest savings will be available on items including Black Angus top sirloin steak, dried cherries, orange juice, ground coffee, bratwurst, hot Italian sausage, apple juice and pound cake. According to the company, shopping for items included in the campaign can help customers save up to US$50 per trip. More grocers are lowering prices on select items in an effort to help shoppers save money amid extraordinarily high inflation. In a similar move, Giant Eagle, Inc. has rolled out a new pricing initiative for its myPerks members that offers savings of up to 20% on more than 1,000 products. Big Lots, Inc. is also going big on summer specials by offering outdoor goods like patio furniture and accessories at savings of 25 to 50%. Similarly, Weis Markets Inc. is making a multimillion-dollar investment to lower prices on hundreds of its best-selling frozen products as an expansion of its Low, Low Price program. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc., meanwhile, is touting the fact that it has maintained its commitment to providing high-quality organic and natural products at affordable prices. Neckarsulm, Germany-based Lidl operates about 11,200 stores in 32 countries, employing more than 310,000 employees worldwide. In the United States, the Arlington, Va.-based grocer has approximately 170 stores. The company is No. 89 on the PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle is No. 36 on The PG 100, while Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots, Sunbury, Pa.-based Weis and Lakewood, Colo.-based Natural Grocers are Nos. 52, 61 and 95, respectively. See here for more: https://progressivegrocer.com/lidl-lowering-prices-select-items-across-us-stores

Discount Retail Chain Lidl (owned by the German Schwarz Group) will invest in Kosovo entering the market and opening new stores. This was announced by the President of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, Berat Rukiqi, via a Facebook post. Mr. Rukiqi says that this is very good news for the country’s economy and local producers. According to Rukiqi, after the arrival of the Lidl company in Kosovo, local products will not only be sold in their local markets throughout Kosovo “Lidl Kosova” but will also be exported through their markets across the countries of the world where they operate. “Representatives of Lidl company, remained impressed with the success of Kosovo, in reconstruction and state building, with the modernization of the private sector and the quality of products” Made in Kosovo”, highlighted Rukiqi. Lidl vision is to enhance the lives of our customers, by providing quality products at market leading value, whilst ensuring that customer satisfaction is at the heart of everything they do. See here for more: https://buletiniekonomik.com/2022/06/lidl-the-global-retail-company-will-invest-in-kosovo/

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Latvija (owned by the German Schwarz Group) has a turnover of 101.42 million euros (US$ 106 million) from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022, but losses increased to 53.36 million euros (US$ 56 million), according to information published by "Lursoft Customer Portfolio". The losses were incurred as the company continued to invest in the development of the retail chain and related processes. The first 15 stores were opened by SIA Lidl Latvija only on October 7, 2021, by the end of the financial year the company had opened 18 stores. Last financial year, SIA Lidl Latvija was the employer of 1,768 employees, paying a total of 16.07 million euros in tax payments to the state budget last year, 2.77 thousand euros in personal income tax per employee, and 5% in mandatory state social insurance contributions, 7 thousand euros. SIA Lidl Latvija continued its efforts in the field of sustainability by implementing several projects. Together with the World Wide Fund for Nature, several environmental clean-ups were organized, and the company participated in the World Environmental Campaign "Earth Hour" with its projects. In order to promote employees' understanding of more environmentally friendly solutions, SIA Lidl Latvija also organized several activities on both more environmentally friendly modes of transport and waste sorting. In the previous financial year, which lasted from March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021, Lidl Latvija's turnover was 2.6 million euros (US% 2.7 million), with the company's loss of 51.59 million euros (US$ 54 million). See here for more: https://www.delfi.lv/bizness/biznesa_vide/lidl-latvija-apgrozijums-pagajusaja-finansu-gada-parsniedz-101-miljonu-eiro.d?id=54475942

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Bulgaria (owned by the German Schwarz Group) has switched entirely to the purchase of 100% green energy. This was announced by the executive director of the company Milena Dragiyska during a conference dedicated to ESG topics. Back in March, Lidl Bulgaria received guarantees of origin for its energy consumption in all stores, logistics centers and its own administrative buildings. The guarantees have been confirmed by the Agency for Sustainable Energy Development. The decisive step is part of the ambitious measures to achieve carbon neutrality set out in the company's climate strategy. The climate strategy is part of a comprehensive large-scale strategy for sustainable business development, which Lidl launched in 2021. "Climate protection and the environment is a long-standing commitment for Lidl Bulgaria, to which we are even more ambitiously committed to the introduction of a comprehensive climate strategy. Last year, based on the international science methodology of the Science Based Targets (SBTi) initiative, which was joined by the Schwarz Group, we set a key goal to reduce carbon emissions from our operational activities in the country by 95% by 2030, compared to with 2019. The transition to the purchase of 100% green energy is one of the strong measures we are taking today to achieve our goal, but it is only part of our overall strategy and vision for a better tomorrow. Along with all the measures we implement in the direction of energy efficiency and conservation of resources, The ambitious goals of the company's climate strategy will be realized by working in three main directions - avoiding the generation of greenhouse gas emissions, reducing them where they can not be completely eliminated and as a last step, offset (offset) emissions by supporting of globally significant projects aimed at climate protection. As part of the measures taken so far for energy efficiency and reduction of carbon emissions at the operational level, Lidl Bulgaria has been working for years with internationally recognized organizations for certification of its sites. All shops, warehouses and own administrative buildings are certified according to the international standard ISO 50001, which strengthens the commitment to more rational use and distribution of energy resources. Thanks to the replacement of lighting alone, all stores with energy-saving LEDs save more than 3 million kWh of energy per year, which is equivalent to about 1547 tons of CO շ emissions. Another significant result of the company's efforts is the shift to more gentle refrigerants. When replacing the equipment for cooling products in stores only for the financial year 2020. Additionally in the direction of optimizing energy efficiency and resource conservation, Lidl Bulgaria is certified according to the system for green building EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency), through which the company achieves at least 20% less energy consumption, 20% less use of water and 20% less energy invested in materials in its stores and warehouses, compared to a standard building of the same type. The company also enables its customers to make more sustainable choices by offering the first among the major retail chains in our country climate-neutral food products from its own brand Vemondo, as well as climate-neutral household goods made of 100% recycled plastic. Together with measures to avoid and reduce emissions from the production and transport of these products, Lidl compensates for all other CO2 emissions by supporting internationally recognized and certified climate protection projects (Gold Standard). The retailer's plans are not only to contribute to climate protection at the operational level, but also to take action to reduce carbon emissions in its supply chain. The company aims to stimulate these suppliers, which are responsible for 75% of carbon emissions in the supply chain internationally, by 2026, to set their own climate goals in line with Science Based Targets and to contribute to the company's overall goals. See here for more: https://progressive.bg/bg/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8/%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F/%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BB-%D0%B1%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B8%D0%B7%D1%86%D1%8F%D0%BB%D0%BE-%D0%BA%D1%8A%D0%BC-%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B5%D0%BD/5337/

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Portugal (owned by the German Schwarz Group) plans to invest approximately €200 million (US$207 million) in Portugal in 2022 as it aims to expand operations in the country and offer quality products at the best price to more consumers. The discounter aims to invest €125 million (US$129 million) in remodelling, modernising and opening new stores to offer shoppers a convenient and swift shopping experience. By the end of 2022, the retail chain plans to renovate around 25 stores, including the launch of six new stores. In addition, it will contribute to rehabilitating the surrounding areas, making life easier and supporting the local communities where it operates. Store Network Lidl entered Portugal in 1995 and currently operates a network of more than 269 stores located across the country and four warehouses located in Santo Tirso, Palmela, Sintra and Torres Novas. The discounter has invested €1 billion (US$1.03 BN) in the country since 2017. It accounted for 1% of the national GDP in 2018, according to an economic impact study carried out by the independent consultant KPMG. In 2020, Lidl opened a new semi-robotised warehouse in Santo Tirso, which led to the development of a new industrial area in the North of the country and the creation of 200 new jobs. It is also building a new warehouse in Loures, to reinforce the supply and storage capacity of its stores in the central region. In February, the discount chain said it invested €21 million (US$ 22 mn) across its Portuguese network, furthering its commitment to the region. See here for more: https://www.esmmagazine.com/retail/lidl-to-invest-e200m-in-portugal-in-2022-205208

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Poland (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) plans to replace paper price tags with electronic ones soon. The tests in the store in Poznań brought good results. "For the sake of precise communication of product information, such as country of origin, price and weight, Lidl Polska introduces the Electronic Shelf Label system", says the operator's message, which also emphasizes that the solution being introduced supports ecology, facilitates the work of store employees and ensures the speed and reliability of information communication that takes place over time almost real. The digitization of the price tag area is a significant step for the chain, which was the first in Poland to decide to introduce them on a mass scale. "Reliable provision of information about products to customers is a duty of the retail industry, and the progress of digitization of the economy opens up new communication opportunities," believes Lidl Polska, which has been testing the new digital solution for several months. Electronic price tags seemingly look like traditional ones, but when you look closely, it turns out that they are small screens displaying the price, country of origin and information about the product. So far, electronic price tags function with very good results, in one Lidl in Poznań. Over the next several months, Lidl plans to equip several hundred of its stores with them, and ultimately all of them (over 750 SKU). As we have established, Lidl plans to start equipping stores with electronic price tags from the assortment of fresh products, including fruit and vegetables, dairy products, bread. It is worth emphasizing that the area of ​​fruit and vegetables is particularly important as it is characterized by frequent changes in the assortment and dynamic prices. It is important that the information on price tags, such as country of origin, price, weight or additional qualities of the product, is always reliable and precise. How does the ESL system work? Electronic price tags, i.e. the ESL system, are directly connected to the goods management system, therefore all price and product information changes are automatically transferred to e-price tags, almost in real time. With this automation, the effort involved in printing and changing prices is reduced, making processes more efficient and costing less. Significant paper savings also reduce the burden on the environment. What's more, employees do not have to exchange price tags and can therefore spend more time on other activities in the store. According to experts, the solution is very useful, especially in the case of some assortment groups, which are characterized by high dynamics of price level changes, e.g. fruit and vegetables or stock offer. Thanks to ESL, in the future it will be possible to adjust pricing even easier and faster and eliminate the potential risk of incorrect or outdated information about the product, related to country of origin, price or other qualities of the product. Data on electronic price tags should always be consistent with internal systems. See here for more: https://handelextra.pl/artykuly/248785,lidl-wprowadza-elektroniczne-cenowki

Discount Retail Chain Lidl France (owned by German Schwarz Group) definitely overtook competitors on the French food market in the pre-Christmas period. At that time, Aldi also increased his participation show the latest Kantar data. According to Kantar data for P13 (from November 29 to December 26, 2021), Lidl recorded an increase of 0.6% points, increasing their market share to 6.9%. The discounter attracted 450,000 during this period. New households, at the same time still building customer loyalty. ALDI, which recorded an increase of 0.4% points, reached 2.7% of the participation in the French market and involved approximately 900,000. Additional households, many of which have been Leader Price customers. An important festive period The last period of the last year was successful for E. Leclerc, leader of the French market noted an increase in the share of 0.3% points, up to 22.9%, increasing both the number of buyers and consumer loyalty. Carrefour gained a 0.2% point, reaching 20.2% of the market share, with the driver of this growth by Carrefour Market (+0.1% points) and Carrefour Proximity (+0.1% point). The System U has noted an increase of 0.2% point, up to 11.3% share during this period, while the market share of Les Mousquetaires increased by 0.1% points, up to 15.2% market share. French households spent 1.3% less in supermarkets in the period preceding Christmas, but the level of expenditure increased by 2.8% compared to an analogous period in 2019, before Pandemic. Kantar's data shows that both convenience channels and online channels increased by 0.2% point during this period, while there has been a significant increase in home deliveries (+ 25% in terms of value). Shares in the market for 2021 years The Kantar Report also allows the balance sheet for the entire 2021 year: Auchan reduced shares by 0.3 points to 9.4%, and Casino by 0.6% points up to 7.7%. On the other hand, E.Leclerc is the most dynamic brand 2021 with an increase in participation by 0.5 points, up to 22.5%. It was also a good year for Carrefour with a 19.7% market share and an increase of 0.2% points, this is the best retailer result for a long time. In turn, Systeme U gained a 0.3% point during the year (up to 11.4% share), as well as musketeers (16%). In turn, Lidl gained 0.5% points during the year and has a 6.8% share in the French market. See here for more: https://www.dlahandlu.pl/wiadomosci/,105052.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dlahandlu.pl

Discount Retail Chain Lidl is constructing more than a dozen new Lidl stores in the Polish capital. Lidl runs 732 stores in Poland, located throughout the country. It opens several dozen stores a year and plans to maintain this pace of expansion, developing organically, also in the largest city in Poland. 'Warsaw is an top priority city for us, therefore we intend to continue to develop our discount chain stores here. We currently have over 30 Lidl Polska stores in Warsaw and a dozen facilities that are just under construction,' explains Aleksandra Robaszkiewicz, head of corporate communications Lidl Polska. 'When choosing a location, we take into account all Warsaw districts and select upon customer proximity, easy accessible and the size of the plot,' he adds. 'Lidl is not present in all 18 districts of Warsaw. The target number of Lidl Polska stores in Warsaw is not specified. The development of the discount chain in Warsaw depends on many variables and our strategy may change at any moment,' explains Robaszkiewicz. As you can guess, the layout of the Lidl under construction will be similar to that located in Wilanów at al. Rzeczpospolita. The shopfloor will be located on the first floor and offices on the second. In addition, a covered parking lot will be provided for motorized customers. At the moment four Lidl's, operate in the northern district of the Polish capital. Lidl has started to build another three stores, including one non-standard store, in this district. Click here for more: https://handelextra.pl/artykuly/240336,lidl-wysyca-warszawe

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Netherlands (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) is developing a sustainability standard for biodiversity on all potatoes, vegetables and fruit at an international level. With this standard, Lidl wants to be able to offer sustainable fruit and vegetables all year round and contribute to a more level playing field for farmers and growers in Europe. Lidl wants to get fruit and vegetables from Dutch soil as much as possible, because this is a guarantee for fresh, qualitative and more sustainable products. In the Netherlands, not all fruit and vegetables are grown all year round, which means that products have to be imported during certain periods in order to be able to offer them all year round. It is inevitable for the supermarket to certify it internationally in order to meet its own objective; having all fruit and vegetables meet its sustainability standards. The certification is expected to be available to all farmers and fruit and vegetable growers by the end of 2021. See here for more: https://www.levensmiddelenkrant.nl/levensmiddelenkrant/nieuws/lidl-ontwikkelt-duurzaamheidsstandaard?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTWpZMU5qRm1OREE0WkdJMCIsInQiOiJDYkhhT1FzTitwZGI3b0tTTGdyWllcL0xUMFdJXC9leE5aNUlKcHlwd2pFV0xUcklteE53XC9yRk4wWFAyVmVySXEzQVM3V3RmMitDUnMxNGZGaVNpVjI1SnF6aktIQ1NwSkNPUnhSTDg5SUhWbkNURXZTbTRhSkkrelBcL3llRVZma3oifQ%3D%3D

Discount Retail Chain Lidl UK (owned by Schwarz Gruppe) was crowned Supermarket of the Year at the 2020 Retail Industry Awards, beating Aldi, Iceland, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, to the much sought-after title. Praised for setting standards other industry players should follow, judges commented on Lidl’s continued drive to provide affordable fresh produce to families across the country and encouraging children to eat healthy food, whilst championing its networks of suppliers. In addition to the most coveted award, the discounter was proud to accept four further accolades including: Most Sustainable Retailer (2nd Year Running), Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year (3rd Year Running), Fresh Flower retailer of the Year (4th Year Running) and Highly Commended Drinks Retailers of the Year. Commenting on the win, Christian Härtnagel, Lidl UK CEO, said: “To be named Supermarket of the Year for 2020 on top of our four other wins is an incredible achievement, and one we’re very proud of in this a year like no other. It wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible colleagues who have done a phenomenal job over the past 12 months and truly are the backbone of our business. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for choosing to do their shop with us. “Since opening our first stores over 25 years ago, we’ve been passionate about providing fresh, high quality products at the lowest prices on the market. This is more important now than ever before, with events of the past year leading to tightening of household budgets. As we continue into 2021 we hope to welcome even more customers across the country through our doors.” See here for more: http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/184137/lidl-crowned-uk-supermarket-of-the-year

The market leadership in stationary food retailing has been fiercely contested for years. A current ranking by the EHI Retail Institute shows the leading top 10 stationary food retailers and which discounter or supermarket is the most successful in terms of net sales and number of branches. Edeka is still in first place. What is new, however, is that Lidl has now overtaken Rewe and has increased the gap to rival Aldi. The food industry is considered one of the most competitive industries in German retail. Discounters, supermarkets, hypermarkets and small merchants have always struggled for customers, locations and market shares. Current data from the EHI Retail Institute in Cologne now shows who is leading the fight. In the study “Retail 2021”, the retail researchers analyzed the industry in detail and, among other things, created a ranking of the leading top 10 stationary food retailers. This shows which discounter or supermarket is the most successful in terms of net sales and number of stores. At the same time, almost all German grocery retailers benefited from the Corona period. Because they were allowed to keep their shops open even during the lockdowns. In 2020, the grocery trade generated the lion's share of the total turnover of the top 1,000 stationary sales lines of all retailers with well over 60 percent. “However, the growth in food retailing varies depending on the format and leads to shifts in the market shares of discounters and supermarkets,” says Marco Atzberger, commenting on the EHI analysis “Over-the-counter retailing 2021”. According to the study, the discounters in particular benefited. Compared to the EHI data from the previous year, Lidl has now even overtaken Rewe and increased the gap to the discounter competitor Aldi Süd. The largest discounter in Germany, Lidl, is, together with Kaufland, part of the Schwarz group of companies based in Neckarsulm. In 2020, the company generated an estimated net turnover of 21.6 billion euros (US$ 25.3 billion) in Germany with 3,202 stores. The discounters also accounted for the largest share of sales: 42.2 percent of total food retail sales are currently accounted for by inexpensive providers, followed by the supermarket concepts Rewes or Edekas. However, the hypermarkets also benefited in 2020 from the trend towards “one-stop shopping” during the two lockdowns, when consumers preferred to shop in one place but bought everything there. However, the growth in sales was not as great as that of the supermarkets. This is often due to the poor accessibility of the markets and the rigid structures, write the authors of the study. It is important to mention: In the data, many branches are still assigned to the retailer Real. After the chain was sold to the investor SCP, the stores are now being sold piece by piece to Kaufland, Edeka, Rewe and Globus. That shifts the market shares, especially in the sub-category hypermarkets, increasingly to Kaufland (Schwarz) and market leader Edeka. See here for more: https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/handel/edeka-lidl-aldi-oder-rewe-welcher-discounter-und-supermarkt-in-deutschland-wirklich-vorne-liegt-b/