Lidl facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lidl

Headquarters in Bad Wimpfen
Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1932; 93 years ago (1932)
Founder	Josef Schwarz
Headquarters	Neckarsulm , Germany
Number of locations	12,200 (2023)
Area served	United States Europe Serbia United Kingdom Switzerland Ireland Baltics Scandinavia (Except For Norway And Iceland) Iberia (Except For Andorra And Gibraltar) Romania Bulgaria Italy France Greece Croatia Slovenia Belgium Malta Cyprus Germany Netherlands Luxembourg Austria Visegrád Group
Key people	Kenneth McGrath (CEO), Dieter Schwarz (Chairman)
Products	Discount supermarket
Revenue	€114.8 billion (2022)
Number of employees	360,000 (2023)
Parent	Schwarz Gruppe

Lidl (German pronunciation: [ˈliːdl̩] LEE-dəl) is a big German company. It runs over 12,000 discount supermarkets around the world. You can find Lidl stores in many European countries, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Switzerland, and the United States.

Lidl's main office is in Neckarsulm, Germany. It is part of the Schwarz Group, which also owns the hypermarket chain Kaufland. Lidl is a major competitor to another German discount store, Aldi, in many places.

History of Lidl

A Lidl store in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Lidl started way back in 1932. A man named Josef Schwarz joined a fruit wholesaler company called Südfrüchte Großhandlung Lidl & Co. He helped it grow into a general food wholesaler.

Later, in 1977, Josef's son, Dieter Schwarz, took over. He decided to focus on discount stores and larger supermarkets. Dieter wanted to use the name of his father's old business partner, A. Lidl. However, he couldn't use that name for legal reasons.

So, Dieter found a newspaper article about a retired teacher named Ludwig Lidl. He bought the rights to use the name "Lidl" from him for 1,000 German marks. This is how the famous supermarket chain got its name!

The very first Lidl discount store opened its doors in 1973. It was designed to be similar to the Aldi stores. Schwarz made sure to remove any products that didn't sell well. He also kept the stores small to save money. By 1977, there were already 33 Lidl discount stores.

Lidl expanded to the United Kingdom in 1994. It has grown a lot there since then. In 2015, Lidl announced it would open stores in the United States. The first US stores opened in 2017 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. By 2024, there were 173 Lidl stores in the US.

In 2021, Lidl in the Netherlands decided to stop selling cigarettes. They plan to completely phase them out by 2024. This is part of a bigger plan to support a "smoke-free generation."

How Lidl Works

Map of countries where Lidl operates as of May 2024.

Currently active     Planned expansion

Formerly active

Inside a Lidl store in Lisbon, Portugal.

A Lidl store in Greenville, South Carolina, United States.

Lidl, like other discount stores, tries to keep prices low. They do this by displaying most products in their original boxes. This means customers can grab items directly from the cartons. When a box is empty, it's simply replaced with a new one. This helps save money on stocking shelves.

Lidl also keeps its staff numbers low to reduce costs. They offer many low-priced special foods. These foods are often made in one European country for all Lidl stores worldwide. However, Lidl also sells many local products from the country where the store is located.

Just like Aldi, Lidl has special weekly offers. Their stock of non-food items, like tools or clothes, changes often. In Germany, Lidl advertises a lot.

Most Lidl stores around the world do not play background music. However, stores in the United States, Ireland, Croatia, Spain (some), Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia do play music. Lidl stores have public address systems for important announcements. They do not play commercials over these systems.

In the United Kingdom, Lidl took a slightly different approach. They focused more on marketing and public relations. They also offered good benefits to their employees, like paying a fair living wage. They even introduced more fancy products, especially around Christmas. This helped them grow a lot in the UK.

Lidl Stores Around the World

Lidl in Somain, France.

Lidl in Santorini, Greece.

Lidl in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany.

Lidl in Fuengirola, Spain.

Lidl in Bodmin, United Kingdom.

Lidl in Amadora, Portugal.

Lidl in Uherský Brod, Czech Republic.

Lidl in Oulu, Finland.

As of 2024, Lidl has stores in 31 different countries.

Past Markets

Lidl has also opened stores in some countries and later closed them.

Future Markets

Lidl plans to open stores in even more countries soon!

Other Things Lidl Does

Lidl sometimes offers products made in-store, like fresh bread in this French store.

In January 2012, Lidl started adding bakeries to their stores across Europe. These bakeries have ovens to bake fresh bread and pastries like croissants. This was a test to see if customers wanted freshly baked items.

Lidl also has its own mobile phone service called Lidl Connect. It launched in Germany in 2015 and later in Austria and Switzerland.

In 2018, Lidl introduced "Lidl Plus," a special loyalty card app. This app gives customers discounts on Lidl's own brands and offers from partner companies. In some countries, the app also gives cashback rewards.

Lidl US has teamed up with companies like Boxed.com and Shipt. This allows customers to get their groceries delivered right to their homes.

In April 2021, Lidl in Ireland started a great initiative. They began offering customers coupons for free pads or tampons every month. This helps fight period poverty, making sure everyone has access to these important products.

In March 2023, Lidl became a sponsor for the 2023 World Cycling Championship in Scotland.

Images for kids

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  Headquarters in Bad Wimpfen

See also

In Spanish: Lidl para niños