Lidl scored record sales over Christmas as shoppers snapped up pigs in blankets and panettone
- Lidl GB said its British consumers were buying a British turkey every second
Lidl enjoyed higher sales in the run-up to Christmas after attracting a further 2 million customers.
The discount store chain revealed that sales in the four weeks ending December 24 grew 7 percent year-on-year to more than £1 billion, a record for the festive period.
The group said its British consumers were buying one British turkey, 8 million stuffing balls and more than 16 million pigs in blankets every second, some in new flavors such as maple, cheese and cranberry.
Meanwhile, sales of the expanded Partytime range rose by around a third, partly thanks to stronger demand for panettone and pandoro cakes.
And purchases of Lidl’s cream liqueur range rose by 60 percent as the company launched new flavors including tiramisu, caramel biscuits and white chocolate.
Lidl GB said an additional 2 million customers came through its stores in the period, with the largest number on December 23 and 75 percent more of them taking advantage of the weekly discounts.
Bumper trade: Discount supermarket chain Lidl revealed its sales rose 7% year-on-year to more than £1 billion in the four weeks ending December 24, a record for the festive season
“We were thrilled to welcome more customers than ever before,” said Ryan McDonnell, CEO of Lidl GB.
‘That is a strong reflection of the trust our customers place in us and the dedication of our colleagues and suppliers, who work so hard to deliver an excellent Christmas for the communities we serve.
He added: “Looking ahead, we are excited to build on our momentum, grow our presence across the country and continue to deliver the highest quality at the best prices in the market.”
According to research group Kantar, Lidl is Britain’s sixth largest supermarket, with 7.7 percent of all sales in the 12 weeks ending December 1.
Like its German rival Aldi, Lidl has become one of Britain’s most popular grocers in recent years as cash-strapped British consumers have increasingly sought out bargains.
In the last financial year covering the 12 months ending February 28, Lidl GB sales rose 16.9 percent to almost £11 billion.
Shoppers made a further 35 million trips to the retailer, the highest annual growth of any UK supermarket, and switched half a billion pounds of spending from other grocers to the company.
This helped the company recover from a £76 million loss last year to a pre-tax profit of £43.6 million and almost eightfold its profits before interest and tax from £28.5 million to £220.8 million.
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