Lidl leapfrogs Morrisons to become Britain's fifth-biggest supermarket

Lidl has grown market share in the UK grocery sector, surpassing Morrisons to become the fifth-biggest supermarket. The chain now holds 8.6% of the UK grocery market, with sales rising 8.8% to £3.2 billion over the 12 weeks to 17 May. Lidl’s share increased from 1.4% at the turn of the millennium to its current position ahead of several major retailers. The company is owned by Schwarz Group and operates more than 1,000 stores and 13 distribution centres, employing over 35,000 people. Lidl plans to open another 50 outlets and invest £600 million in British infrastructure, alongside a £4 billion pledge to invest in British food suppliers.

"Lidl has surpassed Morrisons to become Britain's fifth-biggest supermarket, capping a long run of market-share gains built on a stubbornly simple recipe of high volumes, lean ranges and aggressive everyday pricing. The discounter now commands a record 8.6 per cent of the UK grocery market, with sales rising 8.8 per cent to £3.2 billion over the 12 weeks to 17 May, according to the latest figures from consumer analyst Worldpanel by Numerator."

"To put the trajectory into context, Lidl held just 1.4 per cent of the market at the turn of the millennium. It now sits ahead of Co-op (5.1 per cent), Waitrose (4.5 per cent), Iceland (2.2 per cent) and, in a milestone moment, Morrisons itself on 8.3 per cent. Sales growth at the chain has outpaced every other bricks-and-mortar grocer for almost three years on the trot."

"Owned by Germany's €167.3 billion-turnover Schwarz Group, Lidl GB now employs more than 35,000 people across 1,000 stores and 13 distribution centres. It has earmarked another 50 outlets for the year ahead as part of a wider £600 million investment in its British infrastructure, a programme that follows its £4 billion pledge to invest in British food suppliers as it tightens grip on its UK supply chain."

Read at Business Matters