Lidl

Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG
Lidl
Formerly
 Schwarz Unternehmens Treuhand KG
Private
Industry Retailing
Founded
Company founded 1930 (1930)

First discount store opened
1973 (1973)

Founder Dieter Schwarz
Headquarters Neckarsulm, Germany
Number of locations
 10,000+ in 28 European countries and the United States
Area served
 Europe
United States
Key people
 Jesper Højer (CEO)
Products Discount store
Owner Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG
Number of employees
 315,000
Parent Schwarz Gruppe
Divisions Lidl, Kaufland
Website lidl.com
European countries in which Lidl is active

Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (German pronunciation: [ˈliːdl̩]; UK: /ˈlɪdəl/ LID-əl), formerly Schwarz Unternehmenstreuhand KG, is a German global discount supermarket chain, based in Neckarsulm, Germany,[1] that operates over 10,000 stores across Europe and the United States.[2] It belongs to Dieter Schwarz, who also owns the store chains Handelshof and hypermarket Kaufland.

Lidl is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Aldi in several markets, including the United States.[3] There are Lidl stores in every member state of the European Union, except Latvia and Estonia. Lidl stores are also present in Switzerland, Serbia and the USA.

History

In 1930, Josef Schwarz became a partner in Südfrüchte Großhandel Lidl & Co., a fruit wholesaler, and he developed the company into a general food wholesaler. As a result of the war, the company was destroyed in 1944, and a 10-year reconstruction period soon started.[4]

In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, the Schwarz-Gruppe began to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry wholesale markets. He did not want to use the name Schwarz-Markt (Schwarzmarkt means "black market") and rather use the name of Josef Schwarz's former business partner, A. Lidl, but legal reasons prevented him from taking over the name for his discount stores. When he discovered a newspaper article about the painter and retired schoolteacher Ludwig Lidl, he bought the rights to the name from him for 1,000 German marks.[5][6]

Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, the fifth-largest retailer in the world with sales of $82.4 billion (2011).[7]

The first Lidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi concept.[4] Schwarz rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from the shelves, and cut costs by keeping the size of the retail outlets as small as possible. By 1977, the Lidl chain comprised 33 discount stores.

A Lidl store in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom

Lidl opened its first UK store in 1994 and grew rapidly during the first decade of the 21st century. Since then, Lidl has grown consistently, and today has over 650 stores. While it is still a small player in the United Kingdom, with a grocery market share of less than 5%, its importance, along with that of continental, no frills competitor Aldi is growing, with half of shoppers in the United Kingdom visiting Aldi or Lidl over Christmas 2014.[8]

Sven Seidel was appointed CEO of the company in March 2014, after the previous CEO Karl-Heinz Holland stepped down.[9] Holland had served as chief executive since 2008 but left due to undisclosed "unbridgeable" differences over future strategy. Seidel stepped down from his position in February 2017 after Manager Magazin reported he had fallen out of favour with Klaus Gehrig, who has headed the Schwarz Group since 2004. Seidel was succeeded as CEO by Dane Jesper Højer, previously head of Lidl's international buying operation.[10]

A Lidl store in Greenville, South Carolina, USA

In June 2015, the company announced it would establish a United States headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.[11] Lidl has major distribution centers in Mebane, North Carolina, and Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The first twenty stores in the United States were opened in the summer of 2017, throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, with a predicted total of one hundred stores by the end of 2017.[12][3] Lidl is focusing on locations in East Coast states, between Pennsylvania and Georgia,[13] and as far west as Ohio.[14][15]

Controversies

Lidl in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, in central Poland
  • In 2004, Lidl was awarded the Big Brother Award in Germany for acting like a slave master. For example, Lidl had made its workers do many unpaid hours. Lidl had secretly monitored and routinely inspected the workers’ pockets and cars. Moreover, Lidl had prohibited lavatory visits by its employees. The company had allowed female employees who were menstruating to use lavatories under the condition that they wore headbands during their periods.[16]
  • In 2005, Lidl was caught putting additives in meat which allowed them to avoid salmonella testing and origin labeling, according to the National Food Agency in Sweden.[17]
  • In 2008, German newspaper Stern uncovered Lidl spying on its staff, including registration of employees' toilet visits as well as personal details regarding employees' love lives, personal finances, menstrual cycles and so on.[18]
  • In 2008, Lidl was fined €1.5 million for the unauthorised surveillance of its employees in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.[19]
  • In 2008, Lidl was forced to issue an official apology because a Lidl store in Sweden deliberately poisoned homeless people by poisoning food in trash containers.[20]
  • In 2009, it was reported that appr. 300 sheets of paper containing Lidl employees’ personal information had been found in the trash bin of a car wash in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Among the sheets were forms filled with details of the employees’ sick days and illnesses. This included reproductive health; for example, a female employee had the annotation: “Wishes to become pregnant, fertilisation has been unsuccessful”.[21]
  • In 2010, the Hamburg Consumer Protection Agency filed an unfair competition complaint against Lidl. The company had deceived customers by giving the false impression that the working conditions at Lidl suppliers were good. In reality, the conditions were reported “inhumane” and in breach of conventions and standards.[22]
  • In 2013, Lidl sold gold coins in Germany. Their gold value turned out to be significantly lower than the price that Lidl sold them for. A bank would only pay one fifth of the price.[23]
Opening weekend at Lidl in Vilnius, Lithuania
  • In 2014, a former Lidl UK worker won a case against Lidl after reporting a food safety violation and being bullied from his job.[24]
  • In 2015, it was reported that Lidl had violated labour legislation in Poland such as forcing employees to work for over 13 hours a day, according to reports from the state labour inspectorate. A chairman in the Solidarity trade union in Poland said that Lidl managers harass and intimidate employees who want to organize.[25]
  • In 2015, a Lidl warehouse worker committed suicide by hanging himself at his workplace in Rousset, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. According to a labour inspection survey, Lidl had repeatedly harassed the worker with demeaning comments and unreachable orders. The worker had told a relative that he had been doing the work of five employees.[26]
  • In 2016, Oxfam in Germany revealed the following about the working conditions on certain fruit plantations that supply Lidl: Workers have to work there simultaneously when pesticides are dropped on the plantation. Workers have said that they suffer from frequent illnesses and miscarriages. Work contracts are oral and for three months only. Many workers do not want to form labour unions in fear of retaliation.[27]
  • In 2016, Lidl police headquarters case – an alleged covert attempt to extort bribes from Lidl, became a massive scandal in Lithuania.
  • In 2016, poisonous xylene was discovered in a gravy sold by Lidl UK.[28]
  • In 2017, all of Lithuania's major newspapers reported that Lidl Lithuania, compared to other Lidl markets, sets higher prices on identical products despite lower expenses including rent, salaries, etc.[29][30][31][32]
  • In 2017, Italian police arrested 15 people from 4 of Lidl's offices during investigation into ties with Laudani crime family.[33]
A Lidl store in Santorini, Greece
  • In 2017, Lidl was involved in controversy over eggs contaminated with insecticide fipronil.[34]
  • In 2017, a scandal over the heavy work load and intimidation of workers at Lidl broke in France.[35]
  • In 2017 it was discovered that Lidl removed crosses from pictures of churches on the Greek island Santorini used on packaging for its Eridanous line of products. Lidl acknowledged it made a mistake and promised to deal with the issue.[36][37][37][38]
  • In 2017, Lidl was involved in another controversy related to crosses on churches. Its branch in Camporosso, Italy, was using a picture of the church of Dolceacqua, Italy, for promotional purposes. The cross was removed from the picture of the church.[39]
  • In 2017, Lidl was again found to have removed crosses from churches in its pictures, this time in it's Lithuanian stores in Kaunas and Vilnius. They have, however, denied doing this intentionally.[40][41][42]
  • In 2018, it was reported that Lidl imports raw sausage from Poland into Germany. Pig farmers in Germany have been worried that African swine fever, already present in Poland, will spread to Germany.[43]
  • In 2018, Lidl Tallaght (Ireland) was destroyed by looters armed with a JCB during snow storm "Emma". Lidl’s new Tallaght store and pub is scheduled for completion in 2019.[44][45]

Other services

A fake Lidl store in Hurghada, Egypt

In October 2009, Lidl Movies was launched in the United Kingdom,[46] undercutting Tesco DVD Rental, which had previously been the United Kingdom's cheapest online rental service for DVDs. The service was powered by OutNow DVD Rental. OutNow went into liquidation in October 2011, taking Lidl Movies with it.[47]

In January 2012, Lidl launched bakeries in their stores across Europe.[48] They consist of a small baking area with a number of ovens, together with an area where bread and pastries, such as croissants, are displayed for sale.

In August 2013, Lidl UK also launched an online photo service, which prints photos and photo gifts at discounted prices.[49]

Approach to retailing

A Lidl store in Angers, France

Like fellow German supermarket Aldi, Lidl has a zero waste, no-frills, pass the savings to the consumer approach of displaying most products in their original delivery cartons, allowing the customers to take the product directly from the carton. When the carton is empty, it is simply replaced with a full one. Staffing is minimal.[50]

In contrast to Aldi, there are generally more branded products on offer, and while Lidl imports many low-priced gourmet foods from Europe, it also sources many local products from the country where the store is located. Like Aldi, Lidl has special weekly offers, and its stock of non-food items often changes with time. In contrast to Aldi, Lidl advertises extensively in its homeland of Germany.

The Lidl operation in the United Kingdom took a different approach than the head office, with focus on marketing and public relations, and providing employee benefits not required by law, including paying the independently verified living wage and offering a staff discount.

Upmarket products were introduced, especially in the lead-up to Christmas. This required significant investment in marketing to produce dramatic sales growth but had an effect on Lidl’s logistical operation and pressure on profits. Ronny Gottschlich, who ran the store chain in the United Kingdom for the six years to 2016, was responsible for this approach. This led to friction with head office, due to the cost involved, and in September 2016, Gottschlich unexpectedly left and was replaced by the Austrian sales and operations director, German-national Christian Härtnagel.[51] Lidl continued to have ambitious investment plans in the United Kingdom, potentially ultimately doubling the number of stores to 1,500. In the financial year of 2015, Lidl Great Britain's revenue from its over 630 stores throughout Britain was £4.7 billion.

Reflective inquiry

A Lidl store in a former railway station. Newcastle, Northern Ireland

Trade unions in Germany and other countries have maintained their position over time on Lidl handling workers and Lidl's stance away from European directives on working time, and other criticisms. These viewpoints have been published in the Black Book on the Schwarz Retail Company published in Germany and now also available in English.[52]

The Times[53] notes that Lidl managers work overtime hours and are directed to sign out of the Working Time Directive when starting with the company, while The Guardian reported other allegations in the United Kingdom and abroad. Similar to quality control cameras in many US grocery markets, hidden cameras have been found in one store in Wasbek, north Germany, to monitor its workforce and make notes on employee behaviour, focusing on attempting to sack female workers who might become pregnant or to force staff at warehouses to do "piece-rate" work.[54]

In July 2003, a judge in Savona, Italy, sentenced Lidl for opposition to union policies, a crime in Italy.[55] Lidl has been criticised in both the United Kingdom and Ireland for not allowing workers to join unions. This prompted a campaign by Labour Youth which ultimately led to former National Recruitment Officer and Acting Chairperson of the organisation, Darren Bates, resigning due to a lack of support for businesses which create jobs.

In November 2014, Lidl UK staff were instructed not to speak any language other than English, not even Welsh (a language used in Wales), with Lidl's customers. The Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas yr Iaith) said the policy was "appalling". Cymdeithas yr Iaith's chairman, Jamie Bevan, said that "since the Welsh language bill was passed four years ago, it is illegal to stop staff from speaking to customers in Welsh".[56]

Number of stores

A Lidl store in Zaprešić, Croatia
The northernmost Lidl store in the world, located in Sodankylä, Finland
A Lidl store in Templemore, County Tipperary, Ireland
A Lidl store in Karlstad, Sweden
Country Number of stores
 Austria 230[57]
 Belgium 300
 Bulgaria 90[58]
 Croatia 92[59]
 Cyprus 17
 Czech Republic 220
 Denmark 110
 Finland 173 + 4 outlet stores[60]
 France 1,500
 Germany 3,301
 Greece 232
 Hungary 172
 Ireland 156[61]
 Italy 600[62]
 Lithuania 38[63]
 Luxembourg 10
 Malta 8
 Netherlands 400
 Poland 620[64]
 Portugal 247
 Romania 228[65]
 Serbia 16
 Slovakia 132
 Slovenia 51[66]
 Spain 550[67]
 Sweden 171[68][69][70]
  Switzerland 100[71]
 United Kingdom 710[72][73]
 United States 57[74]
Total LIDL stores10,496

References

  1. ↑ "Impressum Archived 27 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine.." Lidl. Retrieved 28 September 2012. "Adresse: Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG Stiftsbergstraße 1 74167 Neckarsulm "
  2. ↑ "German discounter Lidl slows U.S. expansion: paper". Reuters. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  3. 1 2 "The Germans Are Escalating America's Grocery Price War". Bloomberg.com. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 Weymouth, Lauren. "Secrets of the German supermarkets conquering America (24 slides)". MSN: Money. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "Aldis Erzfeind" (in German). Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  6. ↑ "Der Geheimnis-Krämer" (in German). Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "User account | Supermarket News". Subscribers.supermarketnews.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Half of UK shoppers visited Lidl, Aldi over Xmas - fastFT: Market-moving news and views, 24 hours a day". FT.com. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Ricadela, Aaron (21 March 2014). "German Grocer Lidl Names Replacement CEO After Holland Departure". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Thomasson, Emma (7 February 2017). "Lidl replaces CEO after less than three years". Retail Analysis. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Vozzella, Laura. "McAuliffe bags German grocer Lidl, bringing hundreds of jobs to Virginia". The Washington Post.
  12. ↑ "Lidl". 30 August 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  13. ↑ Thomasson, Emma. "German discounter Lidl starts hiring for U.S. stores launch". Reuters. Yahoo! News. 13 December 2016.
  14. ↑ Staff, WYTV (18 April 2017). "German-based grocery store wants to build at site of Austintown bar". Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Lidl's US stores break European mold, says Bernstein: 'This is not a copy and paste approach'". foodnavigator-usa.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "Arbeitswelt: Lidl | BigBrotherAwards". www.bigbrotherawards.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  17. ↑ Radio, Sveriges. "Matbutiken Lidls köttfärs granskas - P4 Skaraborg". sverigesradio.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  18. ↑ "German supermarket chain Lidl accused of snooping on staff". The Guardian. 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  19. ↑ "Lidl soll 1,5 Millionen Euro Bußgeld zahlen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  20. ↑ "German supermarket Lidl apologises for poisoning homeless". The Telegraph. 14 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  21. ↑ "Lidl-Datenskandal: Brisante Papiere in der Mülltonne - SPIEGEL ONLINE". 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  22. ↑ "Working Conditions in Bangladesh / Lidl - ECCHR - EUROPEAN CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS (en)". 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  23. ↑ "Goldiges Versprechen - Goldiges Versprechen - ARD | Das Erste". 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  24. ↑ "Whistle blower Matthew O'Donnell wins case against Bristol Lidl after he was bullied from job". 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  25. ↑ "Lidl has received almost $1bn in public development funding | Business | The Guardian". 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  26. ↑ "Rousset : le management de Lidl aurait poussé au suicide". LaProvence.com (in French). 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  27. ↑ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  28. ↑ "Alert as poisonous paint thinner found in Lidl gravy". Daily Telegraph. 17 December 2016. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  29. ↑ ""Lidl" mįslė: prekė ta pati, tik lietuviui brangesnė nei vokiečiui ar prancūzui - Verslas - 15min.lt". 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  30. ↑ "Piktinasi "Lidl" kainų pasiutpolke: ar dar ilgai kvailinsite lietuvius? - KaunoDiena.lt". 9 November 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  31. ↑ "Pasipiktino: ta pati "Lidl" prekė Lietuvoje – brangiau nei užsienyje - DELFI Pilietis". 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  32. ↑ ""Lidlas" prisipažino: taip, Lietuvoje drabužiai brangesni - DELFI Verslas". 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  33. ↑ "Italy police take over four Lidl offices in mafia swoop". Reuters. 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  34. ↑ "SR.de: Jetzt auch belastete Eier im Saarland". 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  35. ↑ "La semaine où Lidl s'est retrouvé au cœur du scandale". 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  36. ↑ Rudgard, Olivia (4 September 2017). "Lidl airbrushes crosses from church on Greek food packaging to be 'religiously neutral'". Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  37. 1 2 WELT, DIE (5 September 2017). "Retuschierte Kirchen: Griechen fordern von Lidl "Respekt" für ihre Kultur". Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via www.welt.de.
  38. ↑ WELT, DIE (6 September 2017). "Streit mit Griechenland: Lidl will wieder Kirchenkreuze auf Verpackungen zeigen". Retrieved 7 January 2018 – via www.welt.de.
  39. ↑ Squires, Nick (2017-10-11). "Lidl accused of airbrushing crosses from historic Italian church in publicity image". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  40. ↑ "Lidl removing crosses in Lithuania this time". Legio Christi. 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  41. ↑ M360. "„Lidl" vėl kiša koją dingę kryžiai". M360. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  42. ↑ "A. Bačiulis: „Lidl" įžeidė tris ketvirtadalius Lietuvos žmonių - LRT". Lietuvos Radijas ir Televizija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  43. ↑ Angelopoulou, Alexia (2018-02-18). "Schweinepest: Lidl bringt Bauern mit „Polnischer Rohwurst" in Rage". DIE WELT. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  44. ↑ "Nine men arrested after gang use digger to 'smash into supermarket' during looting incident in Tallaght - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  45. ↑ "Lidl's new Tallaght store and pub scheduled for completion in 2019". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  46. ↑ "Latest News – Which? News". Which.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  47. ↑ Kukiewicz, Julia (28 February 2013). "OutNow: A Look Back". choose.net. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  48. ↑ Bentley, David (2018-02-10). "17 top things you should know if you shop in Lidl". mirror. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  49. ↑ "Our Offers". Lidl Photos. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  50. ↑ "How Lidl keeps its prices low". Business Insider. 2 July 2017.
  51. ↑ Sarah Butler (10 September 2016). "Lidl UK boss unexpectedly leaves German supermarket". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  52. ↑ "Black Book on Lidl in English". Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2009.
  53. ↑ Boyes, R. (27 March 2008). "Lidl the Big Brother Supermarket Is Watching You". The Times.
  54. ↑ Pidd, Helen (14 March 2007). "Cheap But Not So Cheerful". The Guardian.
  55. ↑ "Il tribunale di Savona condanna Lidl Italia per comportamento antisindacale" (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Comercio Turismo e Servici (Italian Federation of Workers in Commerce, Tourism, and Services). 9 July 2003. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  56. ↑ "'English only' rule at Lidl shops sparks Welsh row". BBC News. 7 November 2014.
  57. ↑ "Lidl treibt die Expansion in Österreich voran « WirtschaftsBlatt.at". 27 July 2015. Archived from the original on 27 July 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  58. ↑ "LIDL Заслужава си! Нашите магазини". Lidl.bg. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  59. ↑ "Šire prodajnu mrežu: Lidl otvorio prvu trgovinu na najvećem hrvatskom otoku". Poslovni dnevnik (in Croatian). 29 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  60. ↑ "Lidl Corporate Info" (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  61. ↑ "Lidl plans more stores but not considering convenience formats for Dublin".
  62. ↑ "Lidl opens 600th Supermarket in Italy". European Supermarket Magazine. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  63. ↑ Vizbarienė, Rūta. ""Lidl" atidaro parduotuvę Panevėžyje".
  64. ↑ "LIDL sklepy spożywcze – gazetka, promocje, przepisy, praca". Lidl.pl. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  65. ↑ "Lidl inaugurează un magazin în Reşiţa". Retail FMGC. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  66. ↑ "Lidlove ljubljanske trgovine del UNICEF-ove mreže Varnih točk". Instore.si. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  67. ↑ "Lidl Increases Sales By 7.8% In Spanish Market, Following €1bn Investment".
  68. ↑ "Medarbetare - Lidl Sverige" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  69. ↑ "Pressmeddelande - Lidl Sverige tecknar fastighetsskötselavtal" (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  70. ↑ "Lidl gör stort ännu större - Dagens Handel" (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  71. ↑ "A propos de Lidl Suisse". lidl.ch. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014.
  72. ↑ "About Us". lidl.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  73. ↑ "Lidl opens 700th store in the UK". bbc.com. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  74. ↑ "Grocery Store - Low Prices - Lidl US". www.lidl.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
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