Lidl to Continue Expansion Investments in U.K. Despite Brexit
NECKARSULM, GER – As our friends across the water continue to make headline waves following the United Kingdom’s vote to exit from the European Union, retail chain Lidl has announced that the German-based grocer will continue to invest in the country despite the political change.
“As a British business with German roots, we are part of a much bigger retail network,” said the company in a statement according thegrocer.co.uk. “As such, we are confident of our strong position as a global, market-leading, ambitious food retailer that will continue to deliver profitable results in the years to come.”
Despite the major change, Lidl will continue to invest in expansion plans for new stores, warehouses, and job opportunities in the United Kingdom. Construction has already begun on a new Lidl location in Stockton, England, valued at over £3.4m (or roughly $4.5m).
Some analysts have speculated that like other discount retailers, Lidl could stand to benefit more from upcoming economic changes from Brexit than other chains, and are more likely to be one of the least affected by the historic shift.
As reported by TalkingRetail.com, Kantar Retail stated that Lidl’s efforts to increase and improve their fresh produce offerings, among others, have seen these strategies accounting for 50 percent of the stores sales.
“Lidl alone will invest £1.5bn over the next three years in building new stores, refurbishing existing ones and developing new product new lines,” said Kanter. “These investment plans are likely to remain unchanged and, with the value of the pound dropping, the billions of euros set aside are now set to go a lot further.”
Lidl continued to state that it respected the Leave decision chosen by the public, but as the process of exiting the EU will take longer than the initial decision, plans for operations will continue as normal for the retailer.
“We have been working hard in the background to plan for this scenario, having established a dedicated taskforce both here in the UK and at our international office, so we are very well prepared,” finished Lidl.
Lidl currently has stores in 29 European and non-EU countries, and is currently working to expand into the U.S.
As reports continue to roll in on the effect of Brexit on the buy-side and supply-side of the industry, stay with AndNowUKnow as we keep you updated on the latest.
