Lidl goes upmarket with a focus on elite London postcodes as part of its aggressive $665 million U.K. expansion
While the stars of Made In Chelsea might find the organic quinoa a bit more difficult to locate in their new local Lidl, a shopping trip there will surely prove much more cost-effective than nipping into Whole Foods Market.
And that’s before they encounter the enticements of the eclectic discoveries within the Middle Aisle of Lidl.
The news that they may be rubbing shoulders came after the German discount grocer Lidl announced ambitions to open 40 new supermarkets in the UK this year as it prepares to spend around $665 million on expanding its U.K. store estate, including a wishlist of decidedly upscale London locations such as Kensington, Notting Hill, Covent Garden, and Soho.
Those pricey postcodes are just a few of over 250 potential new site locations that it has identified across the UK capital, with a special focus on affluent central neighborhoods, plus suburban locations, high street sites, retail parks and shopping centers.
Pretty much everywhere, in other words.
Lidl currently has more than 120 stores within the M25 freeway that orbits London and said it has requirements for at least 100 more, while it has nearly 1,000 stores across the UK.
Construction of a new regional hub in Leeds is also set to start this year.
“As we enter our fourth decade in Great Britain and hurtle towards a thousand stores, there are still so many parts of the country crying out for convenient access to a Lidl store,” Lidl GB chief real estate officer Richard Taylor said. “This level of investment is a clear sign of our ambition.”
Indeed, those confident expansion plans follow hot on the heels of Lidl and its German rival Aldi both gaining market share over the Easter bank holiday weekend, despite it more typically being a time of year when the larger supermarket chains make the biggest gains.
Lidl saw its market share rise by 0.4 percentage points to 7.7%, according to data by NIQ, while Aldi – which has slightly more stores than its rivals – market share was up 0.2 percentage points to 10.5% over the 12 weeks to April 19, having reached an all-time high at the start of April when it hit 11%.
Lidl, which has operated in the U.K. for 30 years, posted a 16.9% rise in annual revenue to over $14.5 billion in its most recent accounts, with pre-tax earnings jumping to just over $293 million.
Its ambitious British plans are mirrored in the U.S., where Lidl’s North American operation, after a stop/start history in the U.S., is currently growing its footprint in New York City, with plans to open a store in Brooklyn on May 23 after previously opening at the nearby Gateway Center mall, plus another in the pipeline within the mixed-use Brooklyn’s Crown Heights complex.
Lidl U.S. currently has more than 170 stores across nine East Coast states and Washington, D.C.
Meantime Aldi, which has a significantly bigger presence in North America than its rival, has continued to push ahead with its US expansion and has recently opened its first two stores in the Las Vegas area, with more to follow, as it aims to open more than 220 stores this year. Aldi’s longer-term goal is to open 800 new locations by the end of 2028.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com