Lidl to open 25 new stores in the UK this year creating 1,000 jobs
Lidl has said it plans to open a new store every week until Christmas, seeing 25 new branches and 1,000 more jobs.
The budget supermarket also plans to invest £1.3bn in the UK for 2021 and 2022, which will see the creation of 100 new stores and around 4,000 new jobs.
Lidl aims to have 1,000 stores by the end of 2023.
Lidl GB chief executive Christian Hartnagel said: “It is testament to the continued hard work of our colleagues that we are able to continue forging ahead with our expansion plans, despite the challenging circumstances that have been faced over the past months.”
“I am incredibly grateful to all Lidl teams for their unwavering commitment to keeping the nation fed, and we very much look forward to welcoming more people into the Lidl family in the weeks and months ahead.”
The global pandemic has done little to halt its expansion plans, opening new stores in Birmingham, Torquay and other branches in London.
The discount supermarket also created 2,500 temporary jobs over the pandemic to support existing teams.
Employees at the new branches will earn a minimum of £9.30 per hour outside of London and £10.74 within, higher than the government’s National Living Wage.
Hartnagel added: “Families up and down the country rely on Lidl for affordable, high quality groceries. With the pandemic affecting household finances, our mission to offer value to as many people as possible is more important than ever and is why we remain committed to our store opening programme.”
“With new Lidl stores opening every month, we are offering more communities the opportunity to shop for our great quality products at Lidl prices.”