Lidl unveils plans for move to new town site
New store on Coventry Road will be much bigger
GERMAN budget retailer Lidl is planning a new multi-million pound store in Hinckley on the former HJ Hall factory site.
The firm is replacing its existing Hawley Road supermarket which has been operating for around 13 years.
Staff will be relocated and up to 10 new jobs will be created. The move will bring a bigger offering to Hinckley with stateof-the-art facilities to include an in-store bakery, customer toilets and ample parking.
The announcement comes as Lidl confirms it has exchanged contracts with Hallmark Properties Limited, securing the new site and committing to build a 2,125 sq m store on the 2.25 acre plot.
Lidl UK’s regional head of property, Colin Rimmer said: “We are always looking at ways to improve our existing store portfolio. We’ve seen incredible demand in the Hawley Road Lidl store so have decided to take this step to relocate and improve our offering in Hinckley. The team are very much looking forward to confirming a date for our public consultation day when we will outline our plans and get input from those who will directly benefit from the new store.”
The supermarket, which was crowned Best Supermarket 2016 by readers of Good Housekeeping, has experienced continued growth over the years and it shows no sign of slowing, with continued growth of 18.9% in sales yearon-year and market share high of 5.2%.
Ward councillor Stuart Bray (Lib Dem, Castle) welcomed the news and said: “Obviously it is a popular supermarket and that has been a vacant site for some time so it will be a good use for it.”
He said the council would be looking for safeguards on screening for residents and traffic mitigation.
He added: “Hopefully the move from the existing site will allow the county council to do something with what is a notoriously bad junction at Hawley Road and Rugby Road.”
World-renowned sock company HJ Hall ended production at the Coventry Road factory last year after more than 130 years.
Competition from overseas, the loss of major contracts and changes in wage legislation were cited as the main reasons for the firm’s manufacturing demise.
However, bosses said warehousing, dispatch and distribution operations as well as marketing, e-commerce, design and development would remain a local concern within new accommodation.
The 70,000 sq ft Coventry Road factory had opened in 1977 and at its height employed up to 300 people.
More recently only around 40 remained and the family firm, founded by John Hall, recognised it was simply uneconomic to maintain such a large building given the level of activity.
As the company finally wound down over the last few weeks a sale of office furniture and sock samples was held at the factory while an auction also took place.
The 2.25 acre site was being marketed by commercial property agents Andrew Ashwell for a freehold price of £1.5 million. On the website the area is listed as sold.