Lidl plans thousands more jobs

Lidl discount supermarket plans to double its UK stores and is expected to add thousands of jobs.

13:09 02 December 2013

Lidl, the German discount supermarket chain, has announced its plan to double the number of its UK stores from 600 to as many as 1,500. This is expected to create thousands of jobs, which will be surely welcome by the UK population. UK managing director Ronny Gottschlich said that at least 30 new stores will be opened this year. Compared to big supermarket like Tesco, Lidl, is enjoying increasing sales. According to reports, the supermarket chain like-for-like sales grew at 18per cent a year.

"We really see ourselves these days more of a supermarket than the hard discounter of the past," Mr Gottschlich said. "Those times are over."

"I actually do think we are entering a new era. It is obviously different in every country how long it could take for customers' behaviours to start changing.

"I think that people's perception in the past, and this is something that is definitely changing, is there must be something wrong with the quality of what those people at Lidl offer because they have such reasonable pricing in their stores."