Lidl surprise! Another 5,000 jobs unveiled in £220million expansion
SUPERMARKET chain Lidl has unveiled a £20million television advertising campaign – putting the emphasis on the best of fresh British goods.
It also plans to create 5,000 jobs over the next five years as part of a £220million UK expansion programme, it announced today.
The company unveiled its first national brand TV campaign with a premiere at the V&A Museum in London last night.
The advert at the heart of the campaign, called LidlSurprises, shows shoppers visiting a farmers’ market in London’s East End where they are surprised at what good value the fresh produce is – only to be told upon purchase that their shopping items were sourced from the German chain.
The move comes as part of a drive to highlight its growing range of British produce.
We’re focused on a single goal – giving our customers the freshest, highest quality products possible at the best value
The supermarket said it is expecting a 20 per cent surge in sales this year with customer spending forecast to rocket from £3.3billion in 2013 to £4billion.
It said the planned new jobs will be on top of the 2,500 extra staff it has already announced it will hire before next spring.
UK managing director Ronny Gottschlich said: “We’ve always believed that there doesn’t need to be a compromise between offering excellent quality and excellent value, and, as our sales figures show, the British public increasingly shares that belief.
“We know that many of our first-time visitors are attracted by a particular offer or product, or just by sheer curiosity, but they choose to keep coming back when they realise that we sell the best quality, freshest food at the best price.”
UK-sourced goods account for more than £1.75billion – 65 per cent – of its turnover.
It also exports £250million of home-grown food and drink, including Scottish whisky and English cheese, to stores on the Continent.
Mr Gottschlich added: “I’m proud to say that the majority of our fresh products are sourced from the UK and that we contribute to the UK economy by exporting millions of pounds’ worth of British products to the rest of Europe.”
Over the past four years sales of fruit, vegetables and other fresh goods has risen to 40 per cent of its overall turnover from 25 per cent.
Mr Gottschlich added: “We’re focused on a single goal – giving our customers the freshest, highest quality products possible at the best value. We operate on a highly efficient business model and source as much as we can locally because it supports UK producers and also limits the financial and environmental impact of transport.
“People all over the country are realising they can make huge savings on their weekly grocery shop with us, without compromising on quality.”
Last night’s event was attended Richard Desmond, Chairman of Express Newspapers, and Group Joint Managing Director Stan Myerson.
#LidlSurprises launch event
The chain also wants to increase the number of its UK stores from 600 to between 1,200 and 1,500.
It will open its ninth distribution centre next month to cope with growing demand for fresh produce.
And last week the company revealed it is taking on High Street fashion retailers by launching its own clothing range including faux leather bomber jackets for £14.99, chiffon shirts at £5.99 and casual shoes for £6.99.