In activating one new three-year investment plan which is expected to reach 120 million euros, n Lidl Greece as announced in the context of a special event on the footprint of the chain in the Greek economy.
As he noted the President of the Management of Lidl Greece Mr. Martin Brandenburger (central photo) the new investment plan mainly concerns creation of new stores but also the strengthening of the company’s logistics. In fact responding to newmoney question hinted that the chaina will proceed with the creation of a new transit center referring to relevant announcements that will be made in the coming months. It should be noted that the chain currently operates four logistic centers across the territory.
At the same time, they are expected to continue running actions that started this year having already secured funding and without being part of the budget of the new three-year investment plan. Among them the placing electronic price tags on shelves and expanding the electric car charging networkfrom 28 stores today to 57 by the end of the current fiscal year, which is at the end of February.
“From 1999 until today we have invested more than 1.4 billion euros in total in the country”, noted Mr. Brandenburger, while presenting information about the footprint of Lidl Greece in the Greek economy.
“In 2022, Lidl’s total contribution to the Greek economy reached 953 million euros, which corresponds to 0.46% of GDP. For every 1 euro of our direct contribution to the GDP, an additional 3.89 euros of added value is created in the Greek economy”, underlined Mr. Brandenburger, although later when asked by newmoney about the turnover of the chain in Greece, he refused to answer. It should be noted that Lidl Hellas, as a general company, is not obliged and avoids sharing information about its financial figures.
Otherwise, according to the data presented by the Swiss manager, during last year Lidl Greece created 200 new jobs with the result that today it employs over 6700 workers. “However, in total we indirectly support more than 33,000 jobs”, he noted.
Salary increases
In fact, the CEO of Lidl Greece announced that from December 1, the company is proceeding with a new increase in the minimum wage full-time in all company structures at 1,000 euros. “Our strategic goal is to provide compensation and additional benefits that are competitive and above the market average as a reward and reward for all employees,” noted Mr. Brandenburger, also noting that the company from September to December provides in the form of an emergency aid of 500 thousand euros to employees in stores and logistic centers. An action that essentially completes the package of wage increases and additional benefits totaling 6.7 million euros that was announced last February.
Regarding this year’s performance, the head of the company described it as “encouraging” and expressed optimism for positive course for the whole of the current year which expires in February 2024.
As characteristically Mr. Brandenburger mentioned “we increased the number of our visitors and enlarged our basket” while he pointed out that the main competitive advantage of Lidl Greece is the price range, as the chain is 10% cheaper than the competition in about 200 products (p.s. based on internal research) while it has proceeded with a permanent price reduction of up to 37% on over 330 private label codes from all food and near food categories “using the bargaining power of its network”. “We are the only chain that adds strong offerings to the already lowest prices in the market,” commented Mr. Brandenburger.
It should be noted that private label products make up 70% of all 4000 codes that it has while they amount to 80% of the total turnover.
In addition to the Lidl Plus loyalty program, the chain provides exclusive privileges to its customers, while it calculates that the savings of consumers who use it reach 1,000 euros a year!
Apart from the prices, Mr. Brandenburger pointed out that the company is a reliable partner for Greek suppliers as the average payment is 41 days compared to the market average of 117 days.
“We work with a total of more than 450 Greek suppliers, with 65% of our turnover coming from their own products. We grow with them, promote and strengthen their perspective not only in the Greek market but also beyond the borders, in 31 countries, in which Lidl operates, including the USA. It is worth mentioning that the turnover from the sales of Greek suppliers abroad exceeded 460 million euros in the year 2022″, noted Mr. Brandenburger.
Sponsorship to the Department of Civil Protection
As part of yesterday’s event, the chain’s initiative to support the work of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection was also announced. “We are taking the initiative to create a functional immediate relief mechanism, available at all times, to provide emergency assistance to the local population in case of extreme natural phenomena. This support from our side amounts to 200,000 euros and provides for the creation of a hub that will store basic food, water and other items to meet basic needs. And of course, Lidl Hellas undertakes to supply him on a constant basis”, emphasized the President of the chain’s management.
Sustainability
During yesterday’s event, the Director of Communication and Corporate Responsibility of Lidl Greece Mrs. Vasiliki Adamidou presented and the actions for sustainable development that “runs” the chain.
“By 2030, we are committed to 50% less food waste in our business operation, and 80% reduced greenhouse gas emissions, resulting from our business operation compared to 2019. We also seek to engage our suppliers and partners responsible for 75% of emissions related to products, to set their own climate goals by 2026”, noted Ms. Adamidou, making a broad reference to the installation program of photovoltaic systems that the chain is “running”.
“We count 16 stores with photovoltaic systems installed on their roofs, while a few months ago we completed the installation and activation of photovoltaic systems in our warehouses in Kalyvia Attica and Sindo Thessaloniki. By the end of this fiscal year, 4 new installations will have been added, while we plan to have completed the addition of 17 additional PV systems in stores by the end of fiscal year 2025, bringing the total to 37,” he pointed out. “At the same time, we are prioritizing the installation of electric charging stations in our offices and stores. We are currently operating stations in 28 stores as well as at our head office in Sindh, while electric charging stations are expected to be installed in an additional 29 stores by the end of this financial year,” he added.
Among the goals that Lidl Greece has also set is to reduce by 20% the amount of plastic in the packaging of private label products and to reach 25% of the average content of recycled plastic.
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Lidl Hellas Martin BrandenburgerVasiliki Adamidou
