Lidl

Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (German pronunciation: [ˈliːdəl]; English /ˈlɪdəl/ LID-əl), formerly Schwarz Unternehmens Treuhand KG, is a German global discount supermarket chain, based in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,[1] that operates over 10,000 stores across Europe. It belongs to the holding company Schwarz Gruppe, which also owns the store chains Handelshof and hypermarket Kaufland.

Lidl is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Aldi.

Contents 1 History 2 Other services 3 Approach to retailing 4 Criticism 5 Operations 5.1 Current 6 References 7 External links

History
The company was founded in 1930 by a member of the Schwarz family, and was called Schwarz Lebensmittel-Sortimentsgroßhandlung (Schwarz Foods Assortment Wholesale). Lidl has since established itself in over 20 countries throughout Europe.

The name Lidl is the surname of a former business partner of Josef Schwarz's, Ludwig Lidl, a retired schoolteacher, and Josef's son Dieter Schwarz bought the rights to the name from him for 1,000 German marks, as he could not use the name Schwarz Markt[citation needed]; Schwarzmarkt means "black market". Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, the fifth-largest retailer in the world with sales of $82.4 billion (2011).[2]

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. In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, the Schwarz-Gruppe began to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry wholesale markets. As a result of the war, the company was destroyed in 1944, and a ten-year reconstruction period soon started.

The first Lidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi concept. 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.

Since launching in the United Kingdom in September 1994, Lidl has grown consistently, and today has over 590 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.[3]

In June 2015, the company announced it would be establishing a United States headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.[4]

Other services
In October 2009, Lidl Movies was launched in the United Kingdom,[5] undercutting Tesco DVD Rental, which had previously been the United Kingdom's cheapest online DVD rental service. The service was powered by OutNow DVD Rental. OutNow went into liquidation in October 2011, taking Lidl Movies with it.[6]

In August 2013, Lidl UK also launched an online photo service, which prints photos and photo gifts at discounted prices.[7]

In January 2012, Lidl launched bakeries in their stores across Europe. 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.

Approach to retailing
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Like fellow German supermarket Aldi, Lidl has a no-frills approach of displaying most of its 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, so that a profit can still be made even though the prices are low.

Lidl grocery store in Angers, France in 2013 Together with Aldi, Lidl has carved out its own niche with this approach. 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.

Criticism
Trade unions in Germany and other countries have repeatedly criticised Lidl for mistreatment of workers, breach of European directives on working time and other abuses. These have been published in the Black Book on the Schwarz Retail Company published in Germany and are now also available in English.[8]

While The Times notes that Lidl managers work excessive hours, being obliged to sign out of the Working Time Directive when starting with the company, both The Guardian[9] and The Times[10] in the United Kingdom, amongst other allegations have reported that Lidl spies on its workforce with cameras, makes extensive notes on employee behaviour, particularly focusing on attempting to sack female workers who might become pregnant and also forces staff at warehouses to do "piece-rate" work.

Lidl management has denied the charges. In July 2003, in Italy, a judge in Savona sentenced Lidl for anti-union policies, a crime in that country.[11] Lidl has been criticised in both the United Kingdom and Ireland for not allowing workers to join unions.

In March 2008, the German news magazine Stern released a cover story reporting systematic surveillance of Lidl workers, including the most intimate details of their private affairs.[12][13][14]

In November 2014, Lidl UK staff were forbidden to speak any language other than English - including Welsh. The Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas yr Iaith) said the policy was "appalling". Cymdeithas yr Iaith's chairman, Jamie Bevan, added that "since the Welsh language bill was passed four years ago, it is illegal to stop staff from speaking to customers in Welsh".[15]

The 'English only' rule provoked protests from the Polish community in Kirkcaldy. The incident was broadly commented on in the press[16][17][18][19][20] and the policy was ridiculed. Poles complained that they were discriminated against, as they couldn't be served in their native language any more.

One of the Polish protesters speaking with The Scotsman, said: "I cannot imagine an opposite situation, where a British worker is not allowed to speak to a British customer in the English language anywhere in Europe".[21] Eventually, the policy was changed under the pressure of the public.[22][23]

Operations
Opening weekend by Lidl in Vilnius, Lithuania

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There are Lidl stores in each member state of the European Union excluding the Latvia and Estonia, and also in Switzerland and Serbia.

Current

Country

Number of stores

Austria 198[24] Belgium 300 Bulgaria 80[25] Croatia 86 [26] Czech Republic 220 Cyprus 14 Denmark 94 Finland 147 [27] France 1500 Germany 3000 Greece 226 Hungary 156 Ireland 182 Italy 552 [28] Luxembourg 6 Lithuania 16 (planned expansion to ≈80) [29][30] Malta 7 Netherlands 400 Poland 525 [31] Portugal 256 Romania 193 Serbia 1 [32] Slovakia 130 Slovenia 46 [33] Spain 527 [34] Sweden 169 [35][36] Switzerland 100[37] United Kingdom 630