Lidl pledges up to 250 jobs as it opens £70m warehouse
● Eurocentral distribution centre launch ‘a pivotal moment’ in grocer’s growth
Lidl has reiterated its pledge to create up to 250 jobs as it opened the doors to its new Scottish distribution centre.
The discount supermarket has commenced operations at the warehouse in Eurocentral, located off the M8, which will service the retailer’s 99 stores across Scotland.
The 58,000-square metre distribution centre will be its largest in Great Britain and will serve as a replacement to its existing warehouse in Livingston, with its 600-strong workforce relocating from the West Lothian base.
Lidl said the expansion underlines its “commitment to Scotland”, representing a £70 million investment and providing capacity to grow headcount as required, with scope for a further 250 jobs.
Regional director for Scotland Ross Millar said: “We’re very excited to be celebrating the opening of our new Eurocentral distribution cenextensions tre, which represents a pivotal moment in our ambitious growth plans across Scotland.”
“The warehouse underlines our commitment to creating more jobs for Scotland and I’d like to extend my thanks to both store and warehouse colleagues, who’ve worked so hard to get us to where we are today.”
The German-headquartered discounter also plans to open a further four warehouses by 2025 in Bolton, Peterborough, Luton and Leeds.
Lidl, which is set to launch its 100th Scottish store next year, opened its first outlet north of the Border in 1994.
The group announced in July that it was to add around 500 jobs with the creation of 12 Scottish stores over the next three years, with locations including Dundee, East Kilbride, Cowdenbeath, Larkhall and Dumbarton.
The retailer also unveiled plans to embark on a store regeneration strategy, enhancing a number of existing sites under a three-year programme, either through at current premises or by relocations to bigger sites. This includes the relocation of its Alloa and Bathgate stores.
Its ambitious expansion strategy follows more than two decades of rapid growth for the grocer and highlights the popularity of discount supermarket chains in Scotland. German peer Aldi is set to boost its footprint of Scottish stores to more than 90 by the end of the year.
Figures released in September by insights group Kantar showed that Lidl had attained a record market share, surpassing the 6 per cent mark for the first time and welcoming an additional 618,000 shoppers compared with last year.
Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser Mckevitt said Lidl was “helped by store openings, refurbishments and its newspaper voucher deals”.
He added: “Having moved through the 5 per cent [market share] barrier as recently as May 2017, the retailer has taken just over two years to add another percentage point to its market share – one that’s worth £1.2 billion annually.”