Discount Retail Chain Aldi USA will transition a handful of Winn-Dixie stores in Central Florida over the coming months, the Orlando Business Journal reports. Aldi will convert three locations in Brevard County, two in Lake County, and one each in Volusia and Seminole counties to the Aldi format. The Batavia, Illinois-based grocer has also converted Winn-Dixie locations in other parts of the state, including Daytona Beach Shores, Apopka, Micco and Oviedo. The company has not confirmed official opening dates. Because a typical Winn-Dixie store is nearly twice the size of a standard Aldi layout, Aldi will divide most locations and bring in another tenant to occupy the remaining space, the Orlando Business Journal reports. The Florida conversions are part of a broader growth plan that includes 180 new U.S. stores by the end of 2026. Aldi said Monday the additions will bring its U.S. store count to nearly 2,800 by year’s end, moving it closer to its goal of 3,200 stores by the end of 2028. Aldi has also begun a $35.1 million upgrade of a key distribution center in Baldwin, Florida. Read more: Aldi looks to rebrand 7 Winn Dixies in Central Florida #smartdiscount #aldi #usa #expansion #winndixie #florida #growth #development #investment #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #twitter #harddiscount #hd #acquisition

Discount Retail Chain Tiendas 3B Stores exceeded the number of branches Walmart in Mexico. Although the gap in sales between the two companies is still huge, the data is revealing and is an example of the dynamics that Mexican retail is going through. The discount retail model created by Hatoum has been a success, its company in the Mexican retail sector seems to indicate that it does not intend to put its foot off the brakes in its expansion strategy. By 2026, The company plans to open between 590 and 630 new units, with an investment of 5.5 million pesos per store, which implies a capital expenditure of 3,465 million pesos. At the end of 2025, Tiendas 3B ended up with 3,346 stores in Mexico, above Walmart's 3,316; however, OXXO it is still the king, and by far, with 24,297 stores throughout the country and opening rates of 1,000 stores per year, something that no other retailer can boast. Tiendas 3B Secret "We operate a high-growth business model that has proven to be solid and resilient throughout economic cycles," says K. Anthony Hatoum. The data seem to prove him right, in a year marked by the weakness of the Mexican consumer, the company's sales reached 78,153 million pesos, 36% more than in 2024. But if we look at the map from further away, the company's progress looks more interesting. Its Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) since 2021 is 35.6% and since then their annual income has multiplied almost 3.4 times. Growth is constant, however, the distance from Walmart in Mexico remains abysmal. The company headed by Cristian Barrientos Pozo reported net sales of 836,428 million pesos, 10.7 times more than 3B. But what Hatoum has built is not just an expanding chain, but a way of reading the mood of the Mexican consumer. While Walmart of Mexico and Central America fine-tunes its omnichannel machinery, with 17.1% annual growth in GMV eCommerce, 1,468 stores with on-demand delivery capabilities and a 3.3% advance in same-unit sales in Mexico. Tiendas 3B insists on a more pedestrian and perhaps more powerful truth: for millions of homes, modernity does not come first because of the app, but because of the price. Walmart had a ticket growth of 3.9% in 2025 and a traffic drop of 0.5% in Mexico; Tiendas 3B, on the other hand, reported a 23% increase in the number of transactions, to 825 million, and an average ticket of 94.9 pesos, 11% higher than the previous year. They are not just metrics: they are two different X-rays of consumption. The battle of low prices "Solid and resilient," those two words Hatoum has repeated countless times since his company hit Wall Street. Read calmly, it is a competitive declaration of war. Because what Stores 3B is testing not only the expandability of its rivals, but a more elementary idea: that, in a weak economy, where it is sometimes difficult to reach more than the fortnight, consumption becomes selective, proximity is not everything and the format of hard discount it can cease to be a niche to become a structure. Mexican retail goes through many battles at once: omnichannel; technological evolution where data and AI will become more relevant; that of the square meter that is summarized in winning the best corners; and perhaps the most important: that of price. Bodega Aurrera has been Walmart's workhorse for decades, so much so that it offers dozens of basic products that can be bought with the "morralla"; Grupo Chedraui has its Supercitos and in the plans of FEMSA its format of hard discount called Tiendas Bara. In 2025, Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA) opened 157 Bara stores, to finish with 636. To its CEO, Jose Antonio Fernandez Garza, in his opinion, its hard discount chain has a stronger long-term value proposition than its competitors, including Tiendas 3B. "It needs to expand its offer of private labels. But I like our chances of competing with the discount market. This sector will grow dramatically in Mexico over the next two decades. And Bara has a great chance to become one of the leaders there. I like what we have, and our value proposition for Bara adapts to the Bajío and Jalisco region, and the stores we are opening in Monterrey are, for me, the perfect combination of what the northerner needs," says Fernández Garza. Hatoum knows this, recognizes that it is no longer alone, that Tiendas 3B operates a high-growth business model, which has proven to be solid and resilient, with high cash flows and, above all, that it becomes more competitive as it continues to grow: "Every time we get a customer to buy a new product more than they did before, that is a big leap in productivity and sales". Epilogue In the end, the map of Mexican retail seems to be a dispute between three ways of understanding the consumer. Walmart perfects scale and technology; Oxxo dominates the territory corner by corner; Tiendas 3B advances with a more austere intuition: in an economy where the income is fair, the price continues to be the most powerful innovation: to sell many things, cheaper and to do it many times. Rubén Darío once wrote that in certain battles "The weak lost, the bad won". In modern commerce the phrase sounds less moral and more pragmatic: it is not always the biggest or the most sophisticated who win, but those who best understand the mood of the street. Between Walmart, FEMSA, Chedraui, Soriana, Tiendas Neto and Tiendas 3B, the real battle is not fought in speeches, but in the model that best understands the needs of the consumer. #smartdiscount #tiendas3b #expansion #bara #neto #growth #development #cagr #mexico #stores #leader #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #twitter #harddiscount #hd

The country is changing. Culture is changing. Income distribution is changing. But the basic principles of the successful hard discount system do not change. We encountered the same reality while working in the field in different geographies from Turkey to China, from Peru to Central Asia. New chain openings, new warehouse investments, new growth plans... Hard discount is no longer a regional format; It is a system that attracts investment on a global scale. Why? Because hard discount is not a "cheapness" model. It is a system architecture. Few SKUs, lean store structure, simple operation and disciplined expense organization; it's not just to reduce costs. It is meant to increase decision-making speed, reduce inventory complexity, and strengthen the cash cycle. In inflationary environments and times when financing is expensive, it is clear why this model is preferred: resilience. However, success in every market does not come by itself. The model can be copied. The system architecture cannot be copied. Opening a store is easy. It is difficult to establish a sustainable system. In successful structures, the DNA is strong; but it is not one-way. The DNA is shaped by real performance data from the field. The strategic framework is determined at the DNA. The operational reflex is strengthened in the field. Speed cannot be achieved without delegation of authority. Over-centricity limits scalability. Uncontrolled freedom breaks the standard. Private label alone does not produce success; however, it is one of the critical elements in terms of quality standard and cost control. Logistics and stock management are the silent but decisive power of the system. Hard discount is not the number of stores; it is system discipline. Our experience based on many years is clear: When the right setup, KPI-fed DNA, delegation field structure and disciplined application are combined; Hard Discount can be successful in every country in the world. The discount model is universal. Success lies in the seriousness of sustainable system architecture. #smartdiscount #global #expansion #growth #development #dna #OperationalExcellence #HardDiscount #RetailStrategy #RetailInvestment #SupplyChain #OperationalDiscipline #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #twitter #harddiscount #hd

Discount Retail Consulting (DRC) management recently wrapped up a quick-scan field study in Baku, Azerbaijan, revealing a retail sector in the midst of an extraordinary transformation. The city is bracing for a major market reshuffle as leading chains aggressively compete for dominance. The Competitive Landscape Baku’s retail scene is highly diverse, spanning from Rahat’s premium gourmet offerings to the hard-discount strategies of AL Market and the convenience-led OBA. Currently, three major powerhouses lead the charge: Araz:  The market leader (including Spar and OBA). Bravo:  A formidable second-tier contender. Azersun:  A top-tier player operating Bazarstore and AL Market. Market Insights & Growth Data from the Baku City Statistics Department highlights a shift in consumer behaviour across a population of over 10 million. Total retail volume reached 3.221 billion AZN (+4.3% YoY), driven largely by a 5.6% surge in food and beverage sales. Notably, the data shows a clear divergence as organized retail (legal entities) begins to outpace traditional individual trade. #smartdiscount #azerbaijan #growth #development #oba #almarket #bazarstore #araz #bravo #expansion #development #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #twitter #harddiscount #hd

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Netherlands has started the construction of the most sustainable supermarket in the Netherlands, Lidl Zero Capelle. This CO2-neutral store will be located in the middle of Capelle, directly opposite the current location. Today, during the Week of the Circular Economy, Sjoerd Geissler gave the go-ahead for construction by driving the first pile into the ground. Highest sustainability score The new store will be the third Lidl Zero in the Netherlands. The starting points for the construction of this Zero are that the store has a low impact on the environment and that 'zero-on-the-meter' is realized. CO2 emissions are minimized by, among other things, building a lot with wood and giving old materials a second life. The limited CO2 released during the construction of the store is compensated by the private parking lot. The use of energy-efficient installations has limited the energy demand. Lidl received a sustainability score (GPR) of 8.5 for the design. This is the highest sustainability score ever achieved in supermarket land. Thijs Frijters, manager of branch construction Lidl Netherlands: "After our experiences in the design and construction of our Zero stores in Woerden and Almere, we are taking the next step in Capelle aan de IJssel. A 'zero-on-the-meter' branch where the CO2 emissions to build the branch are limited and then CO2 is captured from the air by using olivine*. This makes this store not only energy neutral, but also CO2 neutral." Focus on circularity The environmental impact of Lidl Zero Capelle is kept low by reusing materials as much as possible. This includes a wooden support structure, prefab timber frame construction and insulation of old clothing. Existing piles, which date from the time of the Ford garage, are used to build the new store. Zero-on-the-meter' thanks to more than 1,300 solar panels on the roof, façade and solar car parking More than 1,300 solar panels will be installed over the entire roof, on the façade and on the roofs of the carports, which will ensure that the store will soon have '0' on the energy meter. Customers can charge their cars in the sustainable car park. From the distribution center in Waddinxveen, the store is supplied with electric trucks. Greening and cooling the environment Not only will there be a beautiful and sustainable store, the environment will also become greener and cooler. Lidl stimulates biodiversity by integrating trees and plants into the area and placing nesting boxes for insects. The parking lot will be equipped with grass concrete pavers, which promote water permeability and reduce heat. Third Lidl Zero Sustainability is in Lidl's DNA. For example, in 2019 the supermarket already opened a 'Lidl Zero' in Woerden, the first energy-circular supermarket in the Netherlands. In 2021, Lidl opened the second Lidl Zero in Almere. There, Lidl showed what was possible in the field of sustainable construction. A completely private park of 14,000 m2 was even built around the building to compensate for the CO2 released during construction. With this branch in Capelle aan de IJssel, Lidl is taking a new step! Read more: Lidl builds the most sustainable supermarket in the Netherlands - Sustainable Business #smartdiscount #lidl #sustainability #netherlands #expansion #growth #co2 #green #drc #discount #retail

Discount Retail Chain Lidl's mother company the Schwarz Group will mark in 2026 its first year of operation of the Schwarz-Digits-Campus. Even though the exact time of the official opening remains under wraps, the preparations on the site are clearly visible. The first employees are to move into the futuristic building complex in the course of the year, a significant step for the location and the entire region. The new campus is finally planned for approx. 5,000 employees of the Schwarz Group. Several infrastructural measures have already been completed. The four new bus stops in the campus area have been served since mid-December. Mayor Timo Frey emphasizes that all major transport connections should be available in the first quarter of 2026. The two new cycle and pedestrian bridges are particularly eye-catching: one connects the Kochendorf Süd light rail station with the campus across the tracks, the other creates a connection from the direction of Kochendorf and the parking decks. Traffic, construction projects and patience required While the campus construction itself is progressing well, there are delays in other transportation projects. The planned light rail stop near the campus is still a long time coming. Missing block signals and problems with the construction of a connecting track at Neckarsulm station are causing delays. The city's hope is that the stop will be able to be approached at least to a limited extent from December 2026. The construction schedule is the responsibility of the Stuttgart Regional Council, the city itself is not financially involved. The interim expansion of the B27 junction in Kochendorf is also being planned. Construction work is scheduled to begin this year and be completed by the end of 2027, with ongoing traffic. Such large-scale projects require patience on the part of citizens, but in the long term they are crucial for an efficient infrastructure. A positive signal comes from the hotel industry: After years of construction, the extension of the Hotel Schloss Lehen has finally opened. 72 additional rooms will significantly increase capacity and ensure the profitability of the operation. Managing Director Rainer Rudolf emphasizes that the investment, a double-digit million amount, also serves the preservation of the historic castle. The construction phase was marked by challenges, including flood protection, but the result is impressive. Budget crisis as the biggest challenge Despite all the construction progress, Bad Friedrichshall is facing considerable financial challenges. "The budget crisis is above all," Mayor Frey makes clear. The design of the municipal budget is difficult, the submission to the municipal council is planned for February, comparatively late in the municipal calendar. Nevertheless, further projects are underway. The new construction of the Lindenberghalle is developing encouragingly: After the groundbreaking ceremony in 2025, important preparatory work has already been completed. The laying of the foundation stone is scheduled for February 25, and the project is on time and on budget, according to the city. At the same time, the administration is working on long-term topics such as heat planning and the biotope network. The city is also concerned with legal requirements, such as the upcoming legal entitlement to all-day care for primary school children. The necessary conditions have been created, now it is still a matter of determining the parental contributions. There is also movement on private construction sites: The rectory is to be demolished and replaced by a modern new building, while another residential project has already been completed. Bad Friedrichshall is thus in a phase of upheaval, characterized by great opportunities, but also by financial and organizational challenges. The Schwarz-Digits-Campus is symbolic of the road into the future. Read more: Schwarz Group reaches the next "mega milestone" - Supermarkt Inside #smartdiscount #germany #schwarz #lidl #schwarzdigitcampus #campus #badfriedrichshall #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #twitter #harddiscount #hd

When discussing European food retail today, it's wise to use the term market with caution. Europe isn't a uniform playing field dominated by a few global giants. Instead, it's a mosaic of national quirks, local leaders, and ingrained shopping habits. This complexity makes Europe both challenging and resilient. The fragmented structure isn't inefficient; it's a reflection of closeness to customers. Nowhere else is the food trade so intertwined with culture, daily life, and trust. Retailers succeed not by sheer size but by being relevant in the local context. Local champions surpass global strategies 1. Each region is visualized across three dimensions: Dominant formats (discount, hypermarket, proximity, premium) Competitive logic (price, proximity, service, private label) Market dynamics (mature, stable, growing) 2. Display: Colour gradients for market dynamics, icons for dominant formats, short keywords per region ("Efficiency", "Diversity", "Growth", "Proximity") In Northern Europe, competition operates on equal terms. In Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, various formats coexist, from cost-focused discounters to comprehensive local suppliers. Success comes from blending operational excellence with regional closeness. Efficiency is essential, trust is the added touch. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, loyalty battles are fought with clear value propositions: price leadership, strong private labels, convenience, or service. Retailers must define their stance, as ambiguity is harshly penalized by the market. France pushes this logic further. Few countries combine so many efficient trade models in such a compact area. Hypermarkets, urban formats, discounts, organic options, and specialists exist not despite their differences but because of them. The French market demonstrates that diversity is stable when strategically managed. Efficiency, discount, and operational discipline as survival factors Germany and its neighbors are the heart of discounting. Here, volumes are moved, margins optimized, and processes perfected. Aldi, Lidl, REWE, Edeka, Kaufland & Co. operate in an environment where every basis point matters. Scaling alone isn't enough; mastering complexity consistently is vital. Southern Europe offers another dimension. Markets like Spain, Italy, or Portugal are highly regional, emotionally driven, and influenced by shopping frequency. Proximity, freshness, and trust often outweigh a wide product range. Retailers must think locally, even if organized nationally. Finally, Eastern Europe represents dynamism. Growth, urbanization, and new consumer habits meet highly localized formats. Successful players merge aggressive expansion with nuanced regional adaptation. A standardized approach here quickly falters. Coexistence instead of consolidation – execution is everything What unites all these regions is coexistence. Discounters, full-range retailers, neighbourhood shops, cash & carry, and online formats often cater to the same customer, just on different occasions. The weekly shop, a quick evening visit, or a price-driven stock purchase: each demands a unique offer. Lidl has secured a strong position across Europe The international discounter of the Schwarz Group, Lidl, has claimed a leading role in Europe's discount sector. With over 11,000 stores across Europe, it stands as the continent's most successful retail operation covering almost all countries. The creators have developed a concept that evidently works globally with various adjustments. For the entire retail industry, this signifies: Europe doesn't reward shortcuts. To succeed here, operational discipline, a deep understanding of local and regional realities, and the ability to not just endure but actively manage complexity are essential. Size helps, but it's never sufficient. Source: Supermarkt-Inside, 2026 Read more: Der europäische Lebensmitteleinzelhandel ist geprägt von nationalen Stars und von Lidl - Supermarkt Inside #smartdiscount #europe #lidl #landscape #coexistance #research #development #growth #differences #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #harddiscount #hd

Discount Retail Chain MERE (part of Svetofor and owned by Torgservis ) opened last monday its first store in Kaunas, Lituania. Hard Discount grocer MERE has ambitious expansion plans planning to open 40 stores in Lithuania this year. Mother Discount Chain Svetofor is active in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and China, and opened stores in Romania, Germany and now Lituania under the brand MERE. Next EU target country will be Poland.

Discount retail chain MERE (family owned by Schneider) has announced its arrival in Belgium and wants to challenge Aldi and Lidl there. Experts warn of the dangers of a price war that can be felt right down to the farmer. The Russian price fighter MERE has plans to open ten more stores in Belgium this year. The chain announced this in May. According to a director of the chain in Belgium, Jean-Claude De Gheest, the chain wants to open its first store in Opwijk in September. The Mere chain of stores is part of the Torgservis group and has a registered office in Siberia. In Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the group is active under the brand name 'Svetofor' and has 2,200 stores, according to Russian sources. In 2017, the Svetofor group expanded its operating area to Eastern Europe and opened stores in Romania, Poland, Serbia, Greece, Latvia, Ukraine and Lithuania. Further it is also operating stores in Spain and UK. Five German stores Since 2019, the chain with the brand name MERE has also been present in Germany with five stores. During the opening three years ago, the public was lined up to get in. The Russian chain wants to compete with Lidl and Aldi in Belgium and says it is 20% cheaper than its German competitors. This low price would be achieved with a sober shop layout, with a limited range of up to 2,000 SKUs displayed on wooden pallets or in cardboard boxes. Lower wages in Eastern Europe In addition, De Gheest says that it can also stunt in terms of price by using foodstuffs of Russian or Eastern European origin. “It is easy to understand that prices are up to 20% lower than in the aforementioned department stores. Wages in the Eastern Bloc are much lower. The chicken we offer comes from a farmer from Ukraine who uses his maize field down to the last piece of land.” By also offering products of Eastern European origin, MERE goes directly against the social trend of sustainability that has been gaining popularity in recent years and the growing need for products of local origin. “Many consumers are not interested in sustainability at all,” says Stefan Van Rompaey of the specialized retail website RetailDetail. “Sustainability is a luxury that many people cannot afford.” The expert does see opportunities for a new low-cost fighter on the Belgian market. “Lidl and Aldi are moving to the middle segment anyway, with the result that space is freed up behind it.” Largest supermarket density Luc Ardies, general manager of BuurtSuper, the sector organization of supermarkets, in turn questions the feasibility and especially the added value of a new supermarket chain. “Belgium has the largest supermarket density in Europe and then more supermarkets need to be added? In addition, all these supermarket chains already have cheaper private labels.” Ardies mainly fears the consequences of a price war that can accompany a launch. “You often see during an introduction that prices are stunted in order to gain market share. The result is that other supermarkets follow suit, creating a race to the bottom that mainly affects small supermarket companies. These are often franchisees who have to go along with the franchiser's policy. At the checkout, MERE wants to make a difference. The company says it is 20% cheaper than Aldi and Lidl. Price battle also felt for farmers “This price war can then be felt throughout the entire chain, right down to the farmer. “This while there is a lot of talk about a better price for agricultural products. Farmers are already paid too little for the work they provide and the investments they put into it,” continues Ardies, who says he is in favor of the French model. “In 2019, the discount campaigns on fruit and vegetables were put to a halt. 1+1 free promotions may no longer be applied to fruit and vegetables in France.” From three to five German stores According to Van Rompaey, things will not go so smoothly. “Obviously, Aldi and Lidl may feel rushed and continue to stunt their prices, creating a domino effect that can indeed be felt down to the farmer's level. But I don't see that happening right away. Mere also announced its arrival in Germany with great fanfare a few years ago, where only five stores have been opened to date.” Plans for France According to French sources, MERE also wants to open three stores in France before the end of the year. Sites in the northwest near Calais and in the far southwest near Nice are being considered, but no decision has yet been taken. MERE also wants to be the cheapest supermarket there, with prices up to 20% lower than Lidl or Aldi. See here for more: https://www.foodagribusiness.nl/russische-prijsstunter-met-oekraiense-kip-naar-belgie/

The owner of a large international chain of discounter Lidl has registered a trademark with Rospatent. The company has been looking closely at the Russian market for the past 18 years, but now the niche in which the retailer operates has begun to actively develop. German company "Lidl Stiftung & Co." issued the rights to use the Lidl trademark in Russia for the retail class. Under this sign she develops a chain of supermarkets-discounters in Europe and the USA. At the moment, their number exceeds 11 thousand. Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, owned by the German billionaire Dieter Schwarz. In 2020, Forbes ranked the entrepreneur as the 30th richest person in the world. During the day, Lidl did not respond to an inquiry from Delovoy Petersburg about the company's plans in Russia. However, it is known that the retailer has been eyeing the Russian market for a long time. Thus, in 2003-2009, LLC LIDL Holding RUS, owned by Lidl Stiftung & Co., was registered in St. Petersburg. and another German company belonging to the same group. In 2004, the St. Petersburg authorities said that they were negotiating the arrival of Lidl in the city. At that moment this did not happen, but, apparently, the company did not abandon its plans, the correspondent of "DP" found the presentation of Lidl 2015, dedicated to the upcoming expansion of the network in Russia. In the St. Petersburg section of the HeadHunter website there is a page of the employer "Lidl", it is indicated that the company operates in the retail trade. But not a single vacancy has been opened on her behalf. Petersburgers are familiar with Lidl stores located in Estonia and Finland. Before the pandemic, Lidl even paid for shopping tours from St. Petersburg to Lappeenranta, provided that the tourist buys goods for a certain amount at a local store. Internet services for the delivery of goods from Lidl to Russia still exist. As a rule, Lidl stores open in detached buildings with an area of ​​700-1000 m2 with parking. A special feature of the chain is its large share in the assortment of its own brands. The company often saves on shelves by displaying goods in boxes and other containers. Now this format of trade is being developed by the Russian networks "Svetofor" and "Mayak", originally from Krasnoyarsk, showing impressive growth rates. In recent years, traditional retailers have also shown interest in discounters, launching the networks "Da" (owner - "O'Key"), 365 ("Lenta"), "Chizhik" (X5). Many international grocery chains showed interest in the Russian market. Official offices of the world's largest retailer Walmart, the French giant Carrefour, operated in Russia. German Aldi registered its trademark here. But in the end, these companies did not open stores. At the same time, the French "Auchan" and the Finnish Prisma took root in Russia. The German chain Billa has been operating in Russia since 2004 (mainly in Moscow), but soon it will leave the country - all of its stores were bought by Lenta. Experts' opinions on the prospects of Lidl entering the Russian market were divided. “We see a very high popularity of the discounter format,” says Ivan Fedyakov, CEO of INFOLine. ... But a discounter is not just a dirty store in an inconvenient place. It's still a store in which the share of its own brands can exceed 90% of the turnover. Our companies, with the exception of Lenta, have such an assortment of brands that to make a separate project, not yet. And Lidl has it. He can come here with his own set of brands and thus to some extent crush this market for himself, because they have just this competence more than enough"... "The background that they have accumulated in Germany and other countries will not work at all in Russia," objected Andrei Karpov, president of the Russian Association of Retail Market Experts. they will not be supplied with goods at a lower price. Often for those who are used to being big, it can be quite difficult to suddenly find themselves in a situation of small petitioners. The simpler option is a situation where they can buy a player. Then they immediately get some kind of then the volume of stores, employees who have work experience in Russia, and it will be easier for them to enter. Are they ready for this?" Typically, the registration of the Lidl trademark coincided with the purchase of Dixy by Magnit and Billa by Lenta. “Somehow import companies don’t take root in our country,” says the co-owner of the “Real” chain Alexander Myshinsky. “Lidl, of course, is much stronger than those who were. They are very successful in entering new markets. Will they be allowed to bring their own brands here? And the second question, how competitive with the current euro rate will these brands be? In Russia, essential goods are quite cheap, much cheaper. See here for more: https://m.dp.ru/a/2021/05/19/Diskaunter_po-nemecki_Li

Last week has been very eventful. We observed a kind of redistribution of the Russian retail market, initiated by several industry leaders at once. Magnit acquired the Dixy retail chain, (see our post https://www.discountretailconsulting.com/post/magnit-to-acquire-dixy-business-with-2-651-stores-in-moscow-st-petersburg-and-other-regions ) and Lenta bought the Billa Russia supermarkets. Behind this high-profile news, one piece of news remained almost unnoticed: the German discounter chain Lidl (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) registered a trademark with Rospatent, which indicates its intention to open a Russian store. Will Lidl be able to compete with local Russian discounters such as Fix Price, "SVETOFOR", "Nahodka", "DA!" ("Okay"), "Chizhik" (X5)? Why does the Billa (owned by REWE) no longer see prospects in our country, and the German Lidl, on the contrary, is once again trying to enter the Russian market? What makes Lidl the largest discounter chain in Europe? We will try to answer these and other questions in this article. "Eternal" enemies Like many famous German companies and brands today, Lidl was founded back in the 30s. last century as a wholesaler of food products. After World War II, Lidl, which had already gained fame in Germany, the company was destined to revive only a few decades later as a chain of discount stores. The first modern discounter Lidl opened in the city of Ludwigshafen in 1973. Within ten years the company operates a whole chain of 300 stores, and the name Lidl becomes a household name throughout Germany. In the late 80s - early 90s. Lidl began to actively expand outside Germany: in 1989 the chain made its debut in France, in 1992 in Italy, in 1994 in Spain and Great Britain. In its foreign expansion, Lidl followed the path of its "eternal" competitor Aldi, another German discount chain, dating back to 1913 (the first modern stores appeared in the sixties). In the USA, Aldi still maintains a noticeable advantage over Lidl, 2,000 versus 100 stores, thanks in part to its early entry into the US market (Aldi opened its first store in 1976, and Lidl in 2017). And in Europe, both chains maintain parity: Lidl is more represented in the east of the continent, while Aldi is in the west. Surprisingly, even in the total number of stores, Lidl and Aldi are not inferior to each other: each retailer operates around 12 thousand discounters. We add that in this race, Aldi entered the Chinese market in 2019, which, however, turned out to be not as successful as expected, due to the lack of demand for the discounter format in the fast-growing China. At the same time, Lidl's potential debut in Russia could be a good response from Aldi, especially given the growing popularity of low-price stores among Russians. Traditional Lidl in Europe occupy an average of 1,000 sq. m, and in the USA, 3,000 sq. m. The assortment of European Lidl is represented by 1,500 SKU, and American, 4,000 SKU. In all stores of the chain, 90% of the assortment of the retailer belongs to private labels brands. What is good for a German, death for an American! Lidl makes format exceptions for the American market. This is due to the retailer's failures, which began immediately after the opening of the first stores on the East Coast of the United States, and subsequent attempts to attract American consumers with new formats and an assortment that was unconventional for discounters. In the summer of 2017, Lidl literally burst into the US retail market with an ambitious plan to open 100 stores in a year. Brendan Proctor, CEO of Lidl in the USA, called "flexibility and adaptability" the main strengths of the company and predicted the retailer's imminent leadership in this segment. Indeed, after more than 40 years of work abroad, Lidl left only one market, Norway in 2008. In all other countries of presence, the German discount chain was able to achieve success. However, it was precisely in terms of flexibility and customer understanding that Lidl failed in the US. 9 months after its debut, by January 2018, Lidl had managed to open only 47 stores. At the same time, the company's management decided to abandon previous plans and open only 20 new stores in 2018. As a result, the 100th Lidl discounter in the United States opened 3 years later than planned, in May 2020. Schwarz Group CEO (owner of Lidl) Klaus Gehrig admitted that the company did not take into account the consumer interests of Americans. He highlighted several key issues for Lidl in the United States. First of all, the assortment of American Lidl was almost devoid of frozen products and semi-finished products, which are very popular in the United States, especially among visitors to low-price stores. In addition, the company initially chose a large discounter format that was unusual for itself, as a result of which customers complained about the complex navigation system in the store. American Lidl lacked non-food items, and prices of many products were sometimes on par with neighboring Walmart or Kroger. The German retailer also made many mistakes when choosing locations for stores: discounters were located too far from the city center, which is why consumers refused to come there. Experts believe that Lidl set a goal from the very beginning to be the opposite of Aldi in the United States, which at that time already operated more than 1,500 stores in the country. Instead of a traditional discounter assortment, Lidl began selling locally sourced organic produce, hoping to differentiate itself from Aldi and attract customers. However, such products were in no way combined with the simplistic interiors of hard discounters and were not well received by the Americans. As a result, Lidl still managed to find its buyer in the United States, including thanks to the development of a mini-format and a revision of the assortment, but, of course, plans to conquer the American retail market are out of the question. The influence of Lidl on local American retailers is interesting. For example, according to last year's study by the University of North Carolina, the opening of a Lidl store in Long Island, New York, forced competitors to reduce food prices by 15%. It is noteworthy that not only is it difficult for German retailers to develop in the United States, but American companies also fail in Germany. So, in 2006 Walmart left the German market after 9 years of work in the country. The American giant lost more than US$ 1 billion without understanding the German consumer. Lockdown and offline bet The coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns hit European discounters hard, and Lidl was no exception. The UK retail market, on which Lidl has been betting for a long time, has been particularly hard hit, planning to open 1,000 stores there by 2023 (there are now 800 chain stores operating in the country). In February 2021, the UK store of Lidl published its financial results for 2019-2020 (before the start of the pandemic): for the year, the retailer lost 25.2 million pounds (US$ 35.6 million). That said, the German retailer has adopted a new £ 1.3bn (US$ 1.8bn) investment plan to hire more employees and expand its stores in the UK. This plan focused primarily on the development of offline stores, which is in line with the company's overall strategy, and did not sufficiently take into account the growth in online sales, which accelerated with the arrival of COVID-19. During the lockdown, the British were less likely to visit Lidl and order grocery deliveries from other stores. Aldi also experienced a similar problem. Lidl now hopes to regain its lost positions in the United Kingdom, hoping that in the face of the economic crisis, the British will prefer discounters to supermarkets. However, Barclays analyst James Ansted disagrees: "If you are nervous about COVID-19, would you rather go to a supermarket with wide aisles and large parking lots or a small and cramped discounter?" HSBC analyst Andrew Porteous believes that price will be the "key weapon" for British retailers in the struggle for leadership. The price gap between discounters and mainstream UK supermarkets is now around 10-12%, up from more than 20% a few years ago. Soon, the price advantage of discounters such as Lidl and Aldi in the United Kingdom will become less visible, forcing them to transform their formats or reduce their presence in the market. Lidl in Russia - Dream or Reality? Lidl has made plans to enter the Russian market more than once. In 2003, the German retailer registered Lidl Holding RUS LLC in St. Petersburg, which existed until 2009. However, not a single Lidl discounter was opened in Russia during that period. Later, in 2015, Lidl released a presentation on expansion into Russia. Lidl then called its main local competitor "Dixy". The retailer saw the advantages of the Russian market in the growing middle class, and the disadvantages in cultural differences, competition, high inflation and instability of the local currency. However, those plans were never implemented. If Lidl intends to enter the Russian market, then there is no better time than now. Sad as it is to admit, falling real incomes are forcing Russians to pay more and more attention to prices and look for discounts in stores. In this regard, low-price stores Fix Price, Nahodka and Svetofor (which, moreover, opens Mere discounters in Europe) are growing record-breaking in the country, and the leaders of the FMCG market are starting to launch their own discounters, Chizhik from X5, “DA! " from "OK" and others. “A discounter is by no means a dirty store in an inconvenient location. It is, after all, a store in which the share of private labels can exceed 90% of the turnover. Russian companies, with the exception of Lenta, do not yet have such an assortment of brands to make a separate project. And Lidl has it. He can come here with his own set of trade marks and thereby to some extent crush this market for himself, because they have just this competence more than enough," Ivan Fedyakov, CEO of INFOLine, commented on the news of Lidl's arrival to Russia. Andrei Karpov, President of the Russian Association of Retail Market Experts, disagrees with him: “The background that they have accumulated in Germany and other countries will not work at all in Russia. They will have to start all relationships with suppliers from scratch. And until they create volume, suppliers will not supply them with goods at a lower price. Often, for those who are used to being big, it can be quite difficult to suddenly find themselves in the situation of small supplicants. A simpler option is a situation where they can buy a player. Then they immediately receive a certain volume of stores, employees who have work experience in Russia, and it will be easier for them to enter. Are they ready for this? " Foreign companies (with the exception of Metro and Auchan) are rather few in the domestic retail market, which is why the possible arrival of the German Lidl cannot be ignored in the context of the departure of the Austrian Billa after the purchase of the Russian subsidiary by Lenta. Billa made its debut in Russia in 2004, positioning itself as a low-cost store. For 17 years, the Austrian retailer managed to open 161 supermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, subsequently abandoning the discounter format (as in European branches). However, in recent years, Billa has been systematically closing stores in Eastern Europe and the CIS. In the fall of 2020, the company sold its last stores in Ukraine, and left Romania in 2017. At the same time, Lidl, on the contrary, is strengthening its presence in this region: in 2018 the retailer opened its first stores in Serbia, in 2016 - in Lithuania, in 2011 - in Bulgaria. The final difference in formats and policies in the region explains the difference between Billa and Lidl in terms of their vision of the Russian market. And the experience of Lidl described above in Europe and the USA speaks of the retailer's readiness to change the format of stores and assortment based on the realities of a particular country. See here for more: https://www.retail.ru/articles/lidl-gotovitsya-k-debyutu-v-rossii/?from=weekly&utm_source=sendpulse&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=retailru-lidl-gotovitsya-k-deb

Brothers Sergey and Andrey Schneider, owners of the Svetofor chain, have opened more than 50 stores outside of Russia in four years. How are Siberian entrepreneurs building an empire of discounters abroad and what kind of customer are they counting on? On the penultimate day of January 2019, hunters for big discounts gathered on the outskirts of Leipzig, Germany. The zealous Germans were attracted by the news of the opening of a new Mere store "the Russian clone of Aldi and Lidl" (popular chains of hard discounters in Germany). No one expected such a success on the very first day: huge queues lined up in front of the cash register, in the aisles between pallets and boxes. Mere offered pasta, canned food, soap, wine and household goods at prices 20% less than competitors. Two days later, the store in Leipzig had to be closed, as all the products were sold out there. At that time, the Torgservice company operated in Russia and neighboring countries more than 900 stores of its flagship Svetofor brand and dozens of Mayak hypermarkets. But the owners of the family business, Sergey and Andrey Schneider, were seized by a new idea - expansion into Europe. The pandemic slowed down, but did not stop the process: to date, more than 50 low-price Mere stores are operating in Germany, Poland, Spain, Great Britain, Romania, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, etc. "They never had yachts and villas" In 2021, Valentina Schneider and the family entered the Forbes 200 richest Russians list for the first time, taking 182nd place with an estimated fortune of US$ 650 million. Entrepreneurs always refuse to communicate with Forbes. They refused this time too. As noted by the German edition Handelsblatt, in their non-publicity, the Schneiders are similar to the founders of the German network Aldi, the brothers Karl and Theodor Albrechts. The Schneiders are from Krasnoyarsk, where they started their first business. “Despite the fact that they are Germans by origin, they live in Russia,” says a familiar businessman from Krasnoyarsk. "Modest, they never had yachts or villas." In 1994, they created the Lenkom company, which was engaged in the distribution of beer and low-alcohol drinks (worked with Baltika, Ochakovo, Heineken and grew into a large regional wholesaler), and the Napilnik chain of alcohol, tobacco and snacks stores... However, the real success of the Schneider brothers was brought by another project stores of cheap everyday goods "Svetofor". “They have a family business,” says a Forbes source. The modern structure of asset ownership is very similar to that of Lenkom: the elder, Sergey, has a larger share, the younger, Andrey has less (according to SPARK-Interfax, Sergey has 61.3%, Andrey 3.2% - Forbes). Their mother is a pensioner. Draw your own conclusions. " Valentina Schneider officially owns a controlling stake in the Torgservice group and retired long ago, like her 82-year-old husband Ivan, who is also registered as a shareholder in many of the family's more than 100 trading companies. In 2009, when Krasnoyarsk businessmen decided to build a network of hard discounters "Svetofor", it was a completely new concept. The business model of "Svetofor" eliminated all unnecessary expenses for logistics, storage of goods, store lighting, advertising, and communication with the press. There are no shelves or counters in stores, they sell goods directly from boxes and from wooden pallets. The minimum mark-up allows you to keep prices in the "traffic light" by 20-30% below the market average. The annually shrinking incomes of the population made hard discounters very popular stores, first in the Schneider's native Siberia, and then outside it. Today the retail business is united by the Torgservice group of companies. It operates the Svetofor and Mayak retail chains with over 3,000 stores. The group's revenue at the end of 2020 amounted to 189 billion rubles (according to the Infoline agency). Over the past year, the indicator grew by 39%, making the company the fastest growing in the FMCG segment in Russia in 2020. At the end of 2020, according to Infoline, the volume of retail space of the Torgservice group of companies amounted to 1.25 million square meters. m, the company entered the four largest retailers in terms of floor space after Magnit, X5 Retail Group and Lenta. In terms of sales, the company is among the top 7 Russian food retailers. Four years ago, the Schneider brothers felt cramped in Russia. Since 2017, entrepreneurs have decided to go international and have opened Svetofor discounters in Kazakhstan and Belarus. On one of the retailer's sites it is indicated that from the same moment preparations began for the opening of stores under the new laconic Mere label (translated from English “simple, clean, ordinary” - Forbes). Surimi and seaweed The conquest of Romania, the first country from which the Schneiders began their expansion into Europe, was not easy. In October 2018, Mere opened its doors to residents of the Snagov commune, located 40 km from Bucharest. It took the Schneiders almost a year to do this, although it was planned to open 15 discounters in 2018. “Everything was going very hard: there were problems with coordination and equipment,” Daniel Vasile, manager of the Romanian Mere , frankly complained during the opening. Entering the new market, Mere announced that it would be the cheapest hard disk discounter in the country (locally, the main competitors are Germany's Lidl and Penny Market). “Our progenitor is Svetofor from Russia, and we are practically a clone of their stores,” Vasile said. Our main advantage is the price 20% lower than the market price. It is difficult, but if we do not achieve this, the goods simply will not end up on our shelf." The Mere concept in many respects repeats the already tried-and-tested model of the Russian "Traffic Light". Shop ranging from 800 to 1200 sq. m should be located on the first floor of a non-residential building on the outskirts of a medium or small town where people "with low financial potential" live. Parking for 30-40 cars is mandatory. The premises that are rented must have a convenient driveway for cars, a central entrance for buyers and a cargo gate with the ability to access and unload vehicles with a 20-ton trailer. Distance from educational institutions and churches is important to meet the requirement for a license to trade in alcohol. In addition, a separate clause specifies the presence of at least a five-year warranty on the floor, which must withstand goods on pallets and in boxes weighing up to 3 tons per sqm. The average number of store personnel is about 11 people, and investments are about € 1million (US$ 1.2million). According to the manager in Romania, the store receives its first profit a year after its launch. See here for more: https://www.forbes.ru/biznes/437333-russkiy-aldi-kak-vladelcy-magazinov-svetofor-stroyat-roznichnuyu-set-v-evrope