Search Results

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Poland's main goal is customer satisfaction. In order to increase the comfort of shopping, Lidl tested self-service checkouts - in mid-August last year - it now already has 1,000 such cash registers in its stores. Lidl Poland is satisfied with the course of the tests, so it plans further roll-out of the project and will systematically launch self-checkouts in all other stores. Lidl notes that there have been recent changes in consumer purchasing behavior. Basic articles have gained in importance. The chain constantly monitors and makes related decisions regarding its product assortment range. It now also offers numerous price promotions for food and non-food products to meet the current needs of customers. For several years, Lidl has also noticed the growing interest of customers in meat-free products, which is why it gradually expanded its offer of products for vegans and vegetarians. In May 2020, Lidl introduced the „Wege Strefę Lidla” (translated "Vegi Lidl Zone"), which is now available in all stores of the chain in Poland. Currently, it contains about 30 products - incl. alternatives to dairy products, vegetable and vegetable ready meals, alternatives to meat or vegetable pastes, humus and tofu. Further expansion of this product group is expected Lidl Poland emphasizes that sales in brick-and-mortar stores is very important and is its main distribution channel. Its customers, however, also have the opportunity to buy non-food products via an online store (www.lidl-sklep.pl), which was launched in 2019 for those who already buy at competitors, as well as those who do not live nearby Lidl stores and so far have not been able to buy non-food goods in them. Currently, at www.lidl-sklep.pl, customers find, among textile, kitchen accessories, household appliances and tools, Lidl's private labels - as Parkside tools, Esmara women's clothing or Silvercrest household appliances - as well as manufacturers' brands. Further Lidl Poland noticed a great interest in the Lidl Plus app, which offers customers interesting promotions, allows them to search for a store nearby, and also keeps e-receipts from purchases. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, Lidl has expanded the functionalities of the app for mobile payments. Currently, all Lidl Plus app users can pay for their purchases via their mobile phone - without having to enter a PIN code. Lidl Poland's calculations show that by using the Lidl Plus application, the customer can save up to US$ 133 (PLN 500) per month. Click here for more: https://handelextra.pl/artykuly/239522,lidl-rozwija-kasy-samoobslugowe-i-asortyment-wege

Discount Shoe Retail Chain Deichmann: How a cobbler's workshop for miners became the "Aldi of the shoe industry" In almost every German household there should be at least one pair of shoes bought from Deichmann. The family business has grown from a small cobbler workshop for miners to Europe's largest shoe retailer in its more than 100-year history. Because the company, like Discount Retail Chain Aldi, comes from Essen (Germany) and is also famous for its low prices, Deichmann is often compared to the discounter. This never bothered the founder of the shoe empire. The Deichmann family revolutionized the shoe trade, became billionaires and what they think about their wealth. The Deichmann company, founded in 1913 and still headquartered in Essen, is the sole property of the founding family. Deichmann now has around 43,000 employees worldwide and operates more than 4,000 branches and 40 online shops in 31 countries directly or through franchise partners. Last year, sales rose to 6.5 billion euros. 183 million pairs of shoes were sold. Click here to see the ZDF documentary “Die Deichmann-Story”: https://www.businessinsider.de/wirtschaft/handel/das-milliarden-imperium-deichmann-schuhster-aldi/

Discount Retail Chain Lidl opened its latest US $92m (£70m) regional distribution centre in Peterborough, employing 400 people and providing a new major hub of fresh produce. At 45,000 sq metres, the centre is the size of eight football pitches, and will form a key part of Lidl’s US $1.75bn (£1.34bn) investment plan into the UK in 2019 and 2020. The business affirmed its wider warehouse expansion plans are also continuing, with new distribution centres planned for Luton and Bolton, along with the expansion of its existing warehouses in Belvedere and Bridgend. The opening at Peterborough follows confirmation of plans to open 100 new stores across Great Britain throughout 2021 and 2022, and marks the latest in Lidl’s rapid expansion plan, as the discounter continues to invest in its GB infrastructure.  Strategically located next to the A1(M), the warehouse will initially serve 48 stores and will use a natural refrigerant system, which heats and cools the entire building, along with solar panels that will generate 10 % of the total electricity required by the building. Lidl stated the facility had plans to recruit a further 50 staff this year. The speed in which Lidl is opening new distribution centers in Europe is enormous, just within one week Lidl opened: Agüimes (Canary Islands, Spain): 40,000-square-meters logistics center, investment US$53 million and employing 60 jobs; Riga (Latvia) 51,000-square-meter logistics center including headquarters, investment $65 million and employing 150 jobs; Peterborough (UK): 45,000-square-meters logistics center, investment US$ 92 million and employing 400 jobs. Underlining the growth ambitions of the Discount Retail Chain and largest European retailer. Click here for more: http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/182536/lidl-to-open-huge-new-distribution-centre

The pandemic has had a profound impact on US shopper behavior and retail success, but will it last? One thing will. “Essential” retailing, which has emerged as retail’s most important business driver. Never before have we seen shoppers turn on a dime to stand in long lines 1.5 meter apart and wear masks day after day Never before have we seen viral videos of shoppers melting down and ranting “I have a right to shop here” after they have been refused service for not complying with a mandatory mask rule. Never before have we seen an extreme economic bifurcation of retail winners and losers. One group soars to new financial heights – grocers, mass merchants, dollar-type stores, home improvement, and some hobbies (sporting goods, crafts, bookstores). While, simultaneously, one group sinks to new lows – department stores, apparel, accessories, and furniture. Recent bankruptcies in the latter group include Neiman Marcus, JCPenney, Brooks Brothers, JCrew and Pier 1. “ESSENTIAL” IS THE GANGSTER MOVE If you are familiar with Professor Scott Galloway, a marketing guru and NYU professor with street savvy, then you know the term “gangster move,” which means awesomely clever or bad-ass in urban slang. Make no mistake about it, adopting an “essential” business model in retail is a gangster move. It was a gangster move prior to the pandemic and it will be even more important after the pandemic ends. Let’s look at the ongoing success of Discount Retail Chain dollar-type stores, which focus on high value (discount prices) and convenience (small store footprint, limited product mix, and and nearby stores thanks to thousands of locations). The pandemic has boosted these dollar-type stores to record sales, profits and stock valuations, and not just because they focus on high value and convenience, which is important for all retailers. There are many retailers similar to these dollar-type stores that offer deep discounts to shoppers, such as TJX, Ross Stores and Burlington Stores, but they have been battered during the pandemic because they were forced to close. Other Dollar-type stores, on the other hand, were allowed to stay open during the lockdown because they were deemed “essential,” largely because they carried food and household staples. Food and staples were not always part of the dollar-type store formula. Dollar General, for example, began carrying milk, lunch meat and a few perishable food items in 2003. Today, it carries a broad range of food staples, canned goods and snacks. It is also on track to include fresh produce in 850 stores by the end of 2020. Food for thought (pun intended): How much business do you think hyper-successful TJX and Burlington would have booked during the lockdown if they had been deemed “essential”? 6-STEPS FOR AN “ESSENTIAL” BUSINESS MODEL “Essential” does not simply mean adding food to a retailer’s product mix. Here are six business model recommendations for retailers who want to become “essential” to shoppers. Begin by adding food in formats that make sense. As noted, TJX, Burlington and Ross missed out on the biggest financial boost in a generation by not carrying food, beverages and staples. They are not likely to make the same mistake twice. They are large format stores and can easily accommodate aisles of fast-moving packaged goods. And, of course, JC Penney and Macy’s are no brainers, too. They have room for extensive product lines of packaged goods and more. Add non-food staples in formats that make sense, such as home cleaning products, bathroom and kitchen products, and alcohol. Macy’s may not be the right place for shoppers looking for home cleaning products, but alcohol seems like an excellent fit. Most department stores, mass merchants and broadline stores would clearly benefit by adding food and non-food staples. Focus on health and wellness. While many department stores and mass merchants carry some personal care products, few focus on such critical areas as health, wellness, diet, relaxation and sanitization. Many of these products have high profit margins and would clearly be an “essential” benefit to many non-drug store retailers. Enrich home life. It may not help a store earn an official “essential” designation but enriching home life has become essential to shoppers. Sales have skyrocketed during the pandemic in such categories as sporting goods (bicycles, kettle bells, yoga pads, fitness equipment), board games and puzzles, electronic games, books and educational materials, and crafts. Many of these products would clearly be a big benefit to many department stores and mass merchants that do not already carry them. Establish “essential” metrics that align new product lines with business objectives. Many “essential” product categories, such as food and household staples, are low-margin items so retailers will require robust analytic insight to constantly adjust and manage them. This will include advanced demand forecasting capabilities, price optimization, merchandise assortment planning and allocation optimization, lifecycle management, segment analytics, and personalization by product, location and customer. “Essential” also applies to associates. Store associates have become heroes to shoppers because they are frontline workers that assist in helping them get needed products during a time of crisis. Retailers need to live up to the high standard set by these associates. This means providing meaningful training, personal protective equipment, sanitizing protocols, clear communications, extending medical benefits, and expanding contactless systems to accommodate designated pickup locations in stores, parking lots and curbside. It also means enabling all associates (not just managers) with digital tools to improve productivity, agility, safety and communication. If Dollar General stuck to its original value-and-convenience formula it would not have become the “essential” retailer it is today with 16,000 stores and sales that will break the $30-billion mark in 2020. With due credit to Prof Galloway, becoming "essential" is clearly the gangster move today in retail. By Joe Skorupa Click here for more: https://risnews.com/why-essential-gangster-move-retail?utm_source=omeda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NL_RIS+Executive+Insight&utm_keyword=&oly_enc_id=8775F0135745H1C

Discount Retail Chain Lidl revealed ambitious plans to open 25 new stores over the next six months, which corresponds to one store per week. The discounter will create up to 1,000 new jobs in the UK by the end of this year. Unlike the country’s big four grocers - industry leader Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons - Lidl and rival Aldi are continuing to open new stores, driving market share gains. The German Discount Retail Chain has announced that it has investment plans of $ 1.63 billion for 2021 and 2022 including an additional 100 stores and 4,000 jobs for the British economy. By the end of 2023, Lidl aims to have 1,000 stores in the UK. The first Lidl UK store opened its doors in 1994 and 26 years later, it now has just more than 800 stores and 13 regional distribution centres across Britain, employing over 25,000 people. Click here for more: https://www.reuters.com/article/lidl-gb-expansion/lidl-gb-to-open-25-stores-this-year-create-1000-jobs-idUSL5N2EL29O

Essential Retailer Being an Essential Discount Retail Chain in the essential products business helped D-Mart in providing shoppers their basic needs, pay its employees their wages and its suppliers and other service providers their dues just like before. Organized Retail (India versus Developed Countries) Unlike developed countries where organized retailers had a surge of customers walking into their stores, it did not happened with the same intensity at D-Mart. This was because of the strong enforcement of store shutdowns, restrictive movement of people in general and strict social distancing rules inside stores. Its negative impact on footfalls and sales were significant. There is also a sales channel of traditional trade which is smart, agile and resourceful. India still has a strong and resilient network of small shops and neighbourhood stores. They came roaring back after the first 2 or 3 weeks of lockdown serving the needs of an anxious customer the way the customer wanted it - quickly over the counter or through home deliveries. Value wasn't top of mind for shoppers during this time. D-Mart's Discount Retail Chain Business Model After the passage of three months D-Mart can say with further certainty that D-Mart Discount Retail Chain business model of store ownership, steady incremental store additions over time and strong focus on cost efficiency during usual times has allowed the business to face the pandemic shocks with relatively less harm. While India is in the midst of the second wave of the pandemic and business outlook may continue to seem uncertain, D-Mart is less anxious than in the beginning of April 2020. Online Sales D-Mart Online sales in Mumbai has grown very well. D-Mart is making all attempts to scale it up in a meaningful manner. It started Home Deliveries (using D-Mart Ready App) through its stores across other cities, but discontinued it once the stringent lockdowns were withdrawn and its stores were allowed to open for business. Conclusion Wherever stores were allowed to operate unhindered, D-Mart recovered to 80% or more of pre-Covid sales in most stores. Discretionary consumption continues to be under pressure, especially in the Non-FMCG categories. This is impacting gross margins negatively. Store operations and duration of operation per day continues to remain inconsistent across cities due to strict lockdowns enforced by local authorities from time to time. In addition, in certain cities authorities are once again insisting on selling only essential products. Hence D-Mart's future revenues continue to remain uncertain. It continues to cooperate with local authorities and takes all necessary precautions and measures to keep its shoppers and employees safe and make shopping 100% safe. Click here for more: https://www.malaysiasun.com/news/265740612/india-d-mart-supermarket-chain-has-shocking-first-quarter

Discount Retail Chain Lidl Hungary is building a new 62,000 square meter logistics center in Ecser, Pest County with a total investment value of US $110 million. US $3.9 million is subsidized by the Hungarian state promotion investment support fund. The new regional distribution center is scheduled to open in November 2021 and will create 400 new jobs. Click here for more: https://trademagazin.hu/en/szijjarto-uj-logisztikai-kozpontot-epit-a-lidl-magyarorszagon/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

Discount Fast Fashion Retail Chain Primark's (owned by Associated British Foods) resistance to shifting to online has for years baffled consumers and investors alike. In an age when online shopping is thriving, Primark has continued to expand its bricks and mortar selling space. A wave of shopping trips were unleashed when non-essential retailers in England were able to reopen their stores on June 15 as lockdown measures were eased. Primark saw hundreds of people queue up when it reopened English stores. Further continuing long queues were reported, especially at Primark, reflecting a level of pent-up demand for fast fashion that needed to be satisfied. It also marked the first time shoppers could get their hands on Primark’s products – especially since it’s notorious for not have any ecommerce channels whatsoever. “Primark is in no rush to go online due to concerns about the net profitability of ecommerce” While rivals such as H&M and Zara invested heavily in e-commerce and reduced their store estate even before the pandemic struck, Primark took a different approach to attracting customers to make a profit. The Discount Fast Fashion Retail Chain said its sales come from increasing its physical selling space, a strategy that proved to work in the past year – especially when Primark opened the biggest store in its global estate in Birmingham in April 2019. “Our decisions online will be taken in their own context, not because of a once-in-a-hundred years pandemic,” said George Weston, the chief executive of Primark parent company Associated British Foods. Although Primark has a website, it does not sell products online. With around 370 stores across 12 countries – 188 of which are in the UK – Primark still has more room for expansion when compared to the likes of Zara, which has 7,412 stores across 72 markets. Click here for more: https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/07/why-is-primark-resisting-the-shift-to-online/

Discount Retail Chains - in developed as well as in less-developed modern retail countries - are having the highest growth rates in brick-and-motar grocery retail. With plenty of regions and countries that do not have a discount retail channel at all, creating significant social inequalities in the local acceptence, availability and penetration of modern retail. This creates large potential for new business development and investment opportunities in this valuable discount retail channel around the globe. Please contact Discount Retail Consulting GmbH to fulfil the discount retail business opportunity in your unique region / country. Click on image for more: https://www.discountretailconsulting.com/contact

Discount Retail Chain Biedronka has 133 stores with a traditional meat counter. Most of these stores, 12, operate in Warsaw. The fresh meat counter sells brands of well-known producers, but Biedronka does not exclude that meat products may be Private Label manufactured in the future. Polish consumers are still not convinced in packed meat, which is perceived as lower quality than that on the counter. They imagine that the meat that is on the counter is more fresh, although it is the same product that lie on the packed-meat shelf. The Polish consumer also attach great importance to the quality of meat and sausages and wants to choose the most best pieces. Despite vegetarian trends, meat is the basis of Poles' diet, in particular dinner dishes. Click here for more: https://www.dlahandlu.pl/wiadomosci/,89598.html

Discount Retail Chain Lidl (owned by private investor Schwarz Group) will cut the ribbon in front of the new market on Mount Holly Road in Burlington, New Jersey. But Lidl cannot celebrate this 104th new opening in the USA as carefree as the company would have liked. Although the dealer calls the ceremony "Grand Opening", the hygiene and safety regulations in the corona crisis do not allow for much solemnity. There will be the mandatory balloons in the company colors blue, yellow and red. The first 100 customers who flock to the store at 8 a.m. are given vouchers valued between $ 5 and $100. But then the team of the discounter will return to the agenda relatively quickly. The Lidl US CEO, Johannes Fieber, has no time to celebrate anyway. He has his hands full trying to expand the stores in the United States. For a long time it looked as if this trip to the New World could even turn out to be a flop for the successful European Discount Retail Chain. But now the business seems to have stabilized. "We are counting on long-term growth in the USA," said Fieber recently almost defiantly. Market research firm Ascential estimates Lidl will generate $1.5 billion in sales this year in the United States. Last year it was $1.18 billion (about $1.2 mio per store per year). Nevertheless Europe's largest retailer had much higher expectations in the United States. "The pace will be very high, we want to grow, the USA is a strategic market for us," Lidl boss Sven Seidel announced at the time in the Handelsblatt interview. A budget in the high three-digit million range was estimated, initial losses in favor of rapid expansion were factored in. Hundreds of stores were to be built in the first year, large internationally Lidl format standarised glass palaces that delight customers and make the competition fear. It quickly became apparent that the expansion in the USA was planned in a hurry and poorly adapted to market conditions. The stores were too big, many locations were chosen incorrectly, and Lidl had not geared enough to the needs of US customers. A lot of money was burned with the purchase of dozens of properties that were later not used. The company simply got caught. Hard interventions in the branch network A warning example for Lidl is the British food giant Tesco. He wanted to take the USA by storm in 2007 with his "Fresh & Easy" concept. But in 2013, the US subsidiary had to go into bankruptcy protection. The chain was sold and finally gave up in 2015. Here too it was due to the wrong assortment and unfavorable locations. Tesco is said to have lost a billion dollars at the time. Schwarz Group's (Lidl owner) boss Gehrig took consequences much quicker at Lidl in order to prevent complete failure. He changed management and sent Fieber, until then Lidl boss in Sweden, to the USA as the new CEO. Roman Heini later joined as Chairman, an experienced discount retail manager who had previously had a career with competitor Aldi. The two newcomers did not shy away from tough decisions. Not only did they slow the pace of expansion, they even closed previously opened stores such as Rockingham and Kinston in North Carolina, which were among the first to expand in the United States. Instead of buying plots of land and building the shops from scratch, existing buildings are now being used. The markets are significantly smaller, no longer have to stand alone, and renting is also possible. In order to keep costs down and still make faster progress, the discounter took over 27 'Best Market' stores in New York and converted them into Lidl stores. The Lidl principle, with which the retailer has successfully stood up to the discount retail inventor Aldi in Europe for decades, is also discounting - but it is much nicer and with more branded items. Now it is being Americanized - with other products, more aggressive prices, less frills. At the same time, the discounter is further developing the logistics infrastructure. In late March, the company opened its third regional distribution center in Cecil County, Maryland. The company has invested $114 million in this 65,000 square meter warehouse and the connected regional headquarters. It supplies stores in Maryland and New York from there. "This will support our expansion plans in the region," said CEO Fieber at the opening. And the expansion is far from over. The company is investing another $ 114 million in a regional distribution center in Georgia, which will be 86,000 square meters larger than that in Maryland. Lidl has only had six stores in Georgia to date. Click here for more: http://www.xing-news.com/reader/news/articles/3348248?cce=em5e0cbb4d.%3AElBggY2JtQFJHEsE424NAB&link_position=digest&newsletter_id=64169&toolbar=true&xng_share_origin=email Experiences from Great Britain help Just like Aldi, Lidl initially had difficulties in winning over British consumers. Both discounters have drawn the conclusion from this to massively change the range in order to adapt it to the wishes of customers. Today Aldi and Lidl already hold 13.6 percent of the UK market and put the established retailers under enormous pressure. Lidl has just announced it will invest another $1.64 billion in the UK by 2022. Lidl plans to open 25 new stores there by Christmas. Aldi is also investing heavily in Great Britain and plans to expand its branch network from almost 900 to 1200 stores by 2025. An interesting detail: The architect of the successful Aldi strategy in Great Britain was Roman Heini, who had headed Aldi UK until 2015. Now he can bring his experience to the Lidl turnaround in the USA. Part of this strategy was a striking openness to marketing and communication. While managers from Aldi and Lidl in Germany tend to bite their tongues before speaking in public, Heini readily gave interviews during his Aldi days in Great Britain and was seen at social events. Heini and his colleague Fieber are now pursuing a similar presence policy for Lidl in the USA. They even express themselves on social media - and also on social issues. For example, CEO Fieber took a position on LinkedIn regarding the unrest following the death of African American George Floyd after a brutal police operation. High growth potential for discounters The social upheavals and the consequences of the corona pandemic in the USA will strengthen the position of discounters. The erosion of the middle class will increase, the recession will exacerbate the problem of unemployment. All of this will lead to people looking even more for quality products at affordable prices. Aldi also did not sit still during the Lidl US attack, but massively intensified its own expansion there. Aldi now has more than 2,000 stores in the United States. According to figures from Ascential, Aldi South is likely to generate gross sales of around $ 20 billion this year - and for the first time could therefore be just before the discount store's sales in its home market of Germany. But the success of its direct rival has no impact on Lidl's expansion. The market conditions in the USA are excellent for both, because of the market size and potential. Source: Handelsblatt, Florian Kolf

Discount Retail Chain Aldi USA has earned the title of Value Leader in the Market Force Information Grocery Benchmark Study for the 10th consecutive year. The study surveys thousands of U.S. shoppers about their grocery buying preferences. In addition to earning the top spot for value in 2020, Aldi private label brands were named the most preferred among U.S. consumers. “Ten years at the top is validation of our commitment to offering customers the lowest possible prices on their grocery needs, every single day – and that will never change,” said Jason Hart, CEO of Aldi U.S. “Customers have always counted on us for our low prices, and we’re thrilled to also be recognized as the nation’s most preferred private label brand.” This decade-long recognition from Market Force is one of several recent value and price accolades the company has received. Aldi has been No. 1 for price for three years running, according to the Dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index Report, Grocery Edition. Additionally, a 2019 Kantar study found that nine out of 10 respondents who shopped at Aldi said it was “more cost-effective” than other grocery stores. “The insights Market Force provides through our annual supermarket study serve as a meaningful performance measure in the marketplace,” said Ira Davies, global SVP of sales and marketing for Market Force. “It is great to see our research affirm the value proposition of Aldi as the industry landscape has evolved over the last 10 years. Consumer feedback consistently shows that Aldi leads the marketplace in value.” The Market Force Information U.S. Grocery Benchmark Study surveyed more than 10,000 U.S. consumers to gather feedback about their grocery shopping experiences, such as checkout speed, convenience, store cleanliness and value. Aldi is one of America’s fastest growing retailers, serving millions of customers across the country each month. With nearly 2,000 stores across 36 states, Aldi is on track to become the third-largest grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022. Click here for more: https://www.theshelbyreport.com/2020/07/15/aldi-value-leader/