German’s discount supermarket chain Lidl is gearing up to double its store count in the UK from the current 600 to as many as 1500.
Lidl UK managing director Ronny Gottschlich told The Telegraph that initially, Lidl plans to open approximately 30 to 40 stores a year.
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This year, Lidl has earmarked £170m for opening new stores. Next year, the investment is set to rise to £220m, and the year after that it will be £300m, the company said.
"If I could have the 1,200 in the next three years, then I would have it in the next three years. But it is clear that the quality of the sites must not be lost," Gottschlich added.
The discount chain will also install bakeries in all its stores.
Clearing the doubts if funding would be a hurdle in expansion, Ronny said: "There are no restrictions to the openings we can do in a year. The funding is there."
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By GlobalDataThe MD reportedly says that those who once felt shy to drop in at Lidl or its rival Aldi are now feeling comfortable visiting Lidl and even boasting the huge discounts they are getting.
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Also, he said the market share of supermarket giants dipped drastically while Lidl’s sales shot up by 13.8% a year and stressed that 25% of its customers were from affluent groups.
Lidl presently operates over 10,000 stores across Europe.
