Lidl stokes up store wars with plans to expand West Midlands supermarkets
LOW cost retailer Lidl has given notice of its intention to take on its big name rivals in the supermarket sector in the West Midlands by announcing major expansion plans.
The company has lodged plans with local authorities in Birmingham and Sandwell to demolish existing stores and replace them with larger operations.
Sales at the leading four supermarkets have all been hit during the past couple of years by the rise of the low cost rivals such as Lidl and Aldi, while firms like Black Country-based Poundland have moved in to claim the territory once occupied by the likes of Woolworths.
Indeed, Jim McCarthy, chief executive of Poundland, has said that even when the economy is back on its feet following the recession, consumers who have got used to paying discount prices will continue to want more of the same.
In Lidl’s case it has announced it plans to demolish existing stores in Kitts Green and West Bromwich and replace them with larger stores, albeit with fewer parking spaces.
It states in its applications that the move is more consistent with its preferred business model.
In West Bromwich, the company has appointed GVA to prepare a planning study in support of its application for its store in High Street, Carters Green.
The existing store is 1,275m² and it has proposed replacing this with a new store of 2,166m² – an increase of 891m².
The new store would be served by 85 parking spaces – less than the 166 it presently has but which the company says is enough for its requirements.
In its report, GVA states: “The development will deliver a foodstore that is more consistent with Lidl’s current preferred business model.”
It said the layout of the new store would be more efficient with greater space between aisles and checkouts, while also allowing the company to store more stock.
The new store will also enable Lidl to incorporate a ‘backnische’, which comprises a freezer, preparation table and an oven to prepare pre-baked bread delivered frozen to the store.
