Big customer switch to Lidl

NUMBERS SOAR 770,000 PER WEEK

DISCOUNT supermarket Lidl revealed its customer numbers had soared by more than 770,000 a week since last year, as it reported a surge in annual profits.

The German-owned chain said £58million worth of spending had switched from its bigger grocery rivals in the past month alone.

It came as Lidl published results for the 12 months to the end of February, showing profits jumped 319% to £41.1m.

Revenue edged up by 1.5% to £7.8billion.

The chain opened 53 new UK stores during the period, bringing the total to 918.

Ryan McDonnell,

Lidl Great Britain’s chief executive, said: “It is so clear that the whole industry is facing a much more inflationary environment and we are not immune to inflation. But our pricing is very strong in the market.”

He said average-basket data from industry magazine The Grocer showed Lidl was £15 cheaper than Morrisons and £10 cheaper than Tesco.

Lidl added it had been affected by labour shortages caused by Brexit and following the pandemic.

The group recently increased its staff minimum wage, from £9.00 to £9.30 per hour outside London and £10.55 to £10.75 within the capital. The pay increase benefitted 19,000 of its 27,000-strong workforce.