Are Lidl Going Out Of Their Comfort Zone?

[sunny-dave]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/13/a-tale-of-two-lidls-is-the-supermarket-ready-for-an-upmarket-rebrand

Very interesting - I've always liked the "A Lidl, is a Lidl, is a Lidl" approach - as with Aldi, every store sells their entire range - at the same price.

Now they're moving towards the "FirstClass, SecondClass" model of the big boys - I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not?

I can see some possible logic in stocking extra items at some larger stores - but I do hope they don't also adopt the predatory 'variable pricing' that Tesco use to gouge people who shop in their smaller stores.

I don't quite see either Lidl or Aldi as 'destination' shopping experiences - at least not yet - so will they just irritate a lot of their existing customer base, who no longer get the full monty?

I may go and have a look at the 'superlidl' when the opening nonsense has abated - but it will need to be good to get me to drive past my local one on a regular basis.

[janbee]

I don't have a Lidl or Aldi anywhere near me. Wish I did

[jno]

I don't see any suggestion of lack of monty? It sounds as if they're stocking the old stuff plus some new lines. There's one near us but not near enough to walk and with not much room to park, so we don't go there much. I had one of their fillet steaks last night and while it was tasty I'm not sure it was fillet at all - looked more like sirloin, broad and flat with some of the fat/gristle still round the edge. Perhaps Germans define the cuts differently. Or perhaps they just mislabel things.

With my Tesco's shop the other day the receipt said I could have bought it for 46p cheaper elsewhere - but instead of giving me a voucher, they'd actually taken the price off the bill already, which seems to be new and is welcome as far as I'm concerned. But that was a big shop, not one of the locals.

[sunny-dave]

I was suggesting that people using the 'old' Lidl stores might start to be grumpy about not getting the full range, jno - especially if they see offers advertised which they can't get.

[jno]

oh, I see what you mean. Well, maybe, but most people are used to shops not having things in stock. I did try asking in Tesco for frozen avocados but none of them had a clue what I was talking about.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/13/launch-tescos-frozen-avocado-could-help-reduce-britains-food-waste

[sunny-dave]

The avocados are behind the freeze-dried kumquats, jno

[Gromit]

Lidl and Aldi have model stores that are of a similar footfall. Lidl have built this experimental store that is bigger. Presumably they will monitor it and tweak it until it right and then roll the same template large stores out in other parts of the country.
I imagine the other store in Rushden will close.
I think the public are used to the concept that bigger stores stock more things without them boycotting the smaller stores.

As with all retail, standing still is a bad option. Retailers have to constantly rebrand, reposition themselves and follow trends.

M&S are a good example of a brand that stood still and didn't change. As a result they have been in decline for several years.

[mikey4444]

I am a huge Lidl fan. They are building one of these near me at Merthyr, which is due to open next month. Its about 10x the size of the one they knocked down. Proper toilets will be nice !

[gness]

Hmmm..."proper toilets"....makes me wonder what improper toilets Mikey's been using...☺

[sunny-dave]

I've always been an Aldista rather than a Lidler - but a couple of visits to buy specific items on offer from Lidl have rather changed my opinion.

Lidl seem to have upped their game quite considerably & my local Aldi is struggling to compete at the moment.

[mikey4444]

Well...........you have to ask to use their Toilet but it isn't very user friendly, as its behind the scenes, if you know what I mean. You have to find a Member of staff, a not inconsiderable undertaking, and then they have to unlock the door and let you back stage. While all this is going on, all the people in the check-out queue are carefully observing you and muttering things like " he should have gone before he left the house" !

[retrocop]

Maybe the super Lidl's will stock incontinence pads. :-)

[mikey4444]

lol Retro ! I seem to need to pee at the most inopportune moments these days, so maybe that's not a bad idea !

[gness]

Ah, I see....didn't know that, Mikey...so....they said...Oh heck...here's the chap with the weak bladder again...what can we do?... :-(
I know! Let's build a big store with PROPER TOILETS........☺

[youngmafbog]

Well, if you think about it the poor are poor; so you wont make a fortune from them.

The gamble they are taking is in thinking posher folk will want to shop in a store that is perceived to be for the lower echelons of society. Whether that is so remains to be seen, but I suspect they will tweak it as Gromit says. (Mu twice in one day I agree with you Gromit!)

[Gromit]

Ymb,
I have noticed we agree on quite a few things. Not sure which one of us should be the most worried :-)