Lidl facts for kids
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LD Stiftung's Headquarters in Bad Wimpfen
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Founder | Josef Schwarz |
| Headquarters |
Bad Wimpfen, Germany (LD Stiftung)
Neckarsulm, Germany (Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG) |
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Number of locations
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12,200 (2023) |
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Area served
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Key people
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| Products | Discount supermarkets |
| Revenue | €132.1 billion (2024) |
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Number of employees
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376,000 (2023) |
| Parent | Schwarz Group |
Lidl (pronounced LEE-dəl) is a well-known German company. It runs many international discount supermarkets. There are over 12,600 Lidl stores around the world.
Two main parts of Lidl operate these stores. The LD Stiftung runs stores in Germany. The Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG manages stores in 30 other countries. Both companies are part of the Schwarz Group. This group also owns the hypermarket chain Kaufland. Lidl is a big competitor to another German discount chain called Aldi.
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The Story of Lidl
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Lidl's story began in 1930. A man named Josef Schwarz became a partner in a company. This company was called Südfrüchte Großhandlung Lidl & Co. It sold exotic fruits. Josef Schwarz changed the company's name to Lidl & Schwarz KG. He then expanded it into a food wholesaler.
How Lidl Got Its Name
In 1977, Josef's son, Dieter Schwarz, took over. He wanted to focus on discount stores. He did not want to use the name "Schwarz-Markt" because it sounded like "black market." He wanted to use the name of his father's old business partner, A. Lidl. However, he could not use that name for legal reasons.
Dieter Schwarz found a newspaper article about a retired schoolteacher named Ludwig Lidl. He bought the rights to use the name "Lidl" from him. He paid 1,000 German marks for it.
The Lidl brand and its two sister companies are part of the Schwarz Group. This group is one of the largest retailers in the world. In 2018, it had sales of €104.3 billion.
Growing the Business
The very first Lidl discount store opened in 1973. It was similar to the Aldi store idea. Schwarz made sure to remove items that did not sell well. He also kept store sizes small to save money. By 1977, there were 33 Lidl discount stores.
Lidl opened its first store in the United Kingdom in 1994. By the end of 2024, Lidl had 8.1% of the grocery market share there.
Lidl also expanded into the United States. In 2015, the company announced it would open its U.S. headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Lidl opened its first U.S. stores in June 2017. These were in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and other cities. The company aimed to open many stores on the East Coast. By the end of 2020, Lidl had over 100 stores in the U.S. As of 2024, there were 173 stores in the U.S.
In April 2022, Lidl paused its plans to expand in Ukraine. This was due to the conflict there. In 2021, Lidl in the Netherlands decided to stop selling cigarettes by 2024. This was part of a plan for a "smoke-free generation."
How Lidl Works
Lidl, like Aldi, uses a simple approach. They display most products in their original boxes. This allows customers to take items directly from the box. When a box is empty, it is replaced with a full one. This helps keep costs low.
Lidl usually offers more well-known brands than Aldi. Lidl also sells many special foods from different European Union countries. But they also sell local products from the country where the store is located. Like Aldi, Lidl has special weekly offers. Their non-food items often change. Lidl advertises a lot in Germany.
Most Lidl stores do not play background music. They have public address systems for important announcements. However, they do not play commercials, except in Hungary and Bulgaria.
Lidl's operations in the United Kingdom took a different path. They focused more on marketing and public relations. They also offered good benefits to employees. This included paying a fair living wage. They also offered staff discounts. They introduced more fancy products, especially before Christmas. This approach helped sales grow.
Lidl Stores Around the World
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As of 2025, Lidl has stores in 31 countries. The LD Stiftung runs the stores in Germany. The Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG runs stores in all other countries.
| Country | Year opened |
Number of stores |
Number of warehouses |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
1998 | 255 | 3 | |
 Belgium |
1995 | 304 | 5 | |
 Bulgaria |
2010 | 137 | 2 | |
 Croatia |
2006 | 111 | 3 | |
 Cyprus |
2010 | 21 | 1 | |
 Czech Republic |
2003 | 323 | 5 | |
 Denmark |
2005 | 163 | 2 | |
 Estonia |
2022 | 18 | 0 (Supply by Lidl  Latvia) |
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 Finland |
2002 | 208 | 3 | |
 France |
1989 | 1,616 | 26 | |
 Germany |
1973 | 3,247 | 39 | |
 Greece |
1999 | 231 | 5 | |
 Hungary |
2004 | 218 | 4 + 1 (u.c.) | |
 Ireland |
2000 | 180 | 3 | |
 Italy |
1992 | 781 | 12 | |
| Latvia |
2021 | 36 | 1 | |
 Lithuania |
2016 | 81 | 2 | |
 Luxembourg |
2001 | 13 | 0 (Supply by Lidl Belgium) |
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 Malta |
2008 | 10 | 1 (Collaboration with Lidl Italy) |
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 Netherlands |
1997 | 440 | 7 | |
 Poland |
2002 | 932 | 13 | |
 Portugal |
1995 | 281 | 4 + 1 (u.c.) | |
 Romania |
2011 | 388 | 6 | |
 Serbia |
2018 | 78 | 2 | |
 Slovakia |
2004 | 176 | 3 | |
 Slovenia |
2007 | 68 | 2 | |
 Spain |
1994 | 713 | 5 | |
 Sweden |
2003 | 205 | 3 | |
 Switzerland |
2009 | 188 | 3 | |
 United Kingdom |
1994 | 1,045 | 14 | |
 United States |
2017 | 188 | 5 | |
| Total | 12,655 | 183 + 3 (u.c.) |
Future Plans for Lidl Stores
Lidl is planning to open stores in new countries. These include Andorra, Liechtenstein, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Some of these stores are already being built.
Countries Where Lidl Used to Be
Lidl once had stores in Norway. They opened in 2004 but closed in 2008. This was because of low sales and other issues.
Lidl's Own Products
Lidl itself does not make products. However, its sister company, "Schwarz Produktion," makes private label products. These are sold only at Lidl and Kaufland stores.
One part of Schwarz Produktion is "MEG Weißenfels GmbH & Co. KG." This company runs bottling plants in Germany and Great Britain. They also recycle plastic bottles there. New bottles are made and filled at these plants.
In 2009, a factory for chocolate bars started being built in Übach-Palenberg. When it opened in 2012, it made 1,050 chocolate bars every hour. Today, it can make 100,000 bars per hour! The chocolate mix comes from special trucks.
At the same time, a plant for packing nuts and dried fruits was built. It opened in 2010. It can now pack almost 70,000 tons of these items each year. Nuts and dried fruits come from other companies. A large bakery for frozen dough was also built in Übach-Palenberg. These dough pieces are baked in Lidl and Kaufland stores across Europe.
Other Services from Lidl
In January 2012, Lidl started adding bakeries to its stores in Europe. These bakeries have ovens to bake fresh bread and pastries. This includes items like croissants.
Lidl also has its own mobile phone service called Lidl Connect. It launched in Germany in 2015. It later came to Austria and Switzerland in 2019.
In August 2018, Lidl introduced its "Lidl Plus" loyalty card app. This app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. It offers discounts on Lidl's own brands and other deals. In some countries, the app also gives cashback rewards.
Lidl US has partnered with companies like Boxed.com and Target Corporation's Shipt. These partnerships offer home delivery services for groceries.
Lidl also has offices in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. These offices likely help manage contracts with local companies that make non-food products for Lidl stores.
In April 2021, Lidl in Ireland began offering free pads or tampons to customers each month. This was part of an effort to help with "period poverty."
In March 2023, Lidl became a sponsor for the 2023 World Cycling Championship in Scotland.
See also
In Spanish: Lidl para niños
