Trade comment from Conor Boyle
Lidl Regional Director of Northern Ireland, Conor Boyle, shares how the company’s sales growth in 2018 has cemented it’s position as the region’s fastest-growing supermarket
“Last year, Lidl Northern Ireland had another successful year. From increased market share and significant charitable donations, ramped up commitment to local suppliers and increasing focus on sustainable living, Lidl has fully established a firm place within the Northern Ireland community.
“In 2018, we set clear and strategic goals to positively impact communities while continuing to support staff, local suppliers and effectively and efficiently provide a product offering high in quality and low on price and I’m pleased to announce that these targets were exceeded.
“Our commercial status was cemented in the Kantar Worldpanel 2018 supermarket share figures revealing that Lidl demonstrated the strongest annual market share growth among all major retailers in Northern Ireland. Our sales growth again reinforced our solid position as the region’s fastest-growing supermarket.
“We continued to expand our product offering in 2018, introducing new and limited-edition lines across all stores, giving shoppers more of what they want and supporting more local suppliers in doing so. Lidl provides customers with the best products at the best prices in-market.
“We also made a series of major new direct investments in our local Northern Ireland supplier network. Lidl Northern Ireland sourced £80 million worth of produce from over 50 local suppliers, underpinning our commitment to local producers and the community.
“Our recent Community Impact Report confirmed a contribution of more than £420,000 to local charitable causes in 2018. Through fundraising and charity initiatives, Lidl Northern Ireland and our customers directly raised £193,884 for our charity partner NSPCC which provides support to local children. This outstanding result puts us in pole position to reach our NSPCC target by the end of 2019.
“In addition, we donated 156,304 meals as part of a Northern Ireland wide initiative with FoodCloud to distribute surplus food to worthwhile causes that would otherwise go to waste and saved local charities as much as £213,145 in the process. As well as meal donations, 55 charities and community groups working with Lidl and FoodCloud were supported in the region.
“Our Living Wage continued to be a focus and in 2018 we consolidated our position as a leading local employer by confirming the introduction of the new real Living Wage in 2019 – a move that will see wages increase from £8.75 to £9.00 per hour for 11 percent of employees. All other employees working in Lidl already earn in excess of the Living Wage.
“The environment remained a high priority. In October we announced our plan to remove black plastic packaging from our entire fruit and vegetable range before Christmas. The packaging, which cannot be recycled, will be scrapped from fresh fish products by February of this year, followed by fresh meat, poultry and cured meat ranges.
“Black plastic packaging is not normally recycled because sorting systems cannot detect the carbon black pigment. As a direct result of our move, over 60 tonnes of black plastic waste will be avoided annually from fruit and vegetables across the island.
“We also banned the sale of single-use plastic items including drinking straws, disposable plates, cups and cutlery, with plastic-stemmed cotton buds now next on the list. These single-use plastic items are now being replaced with biodegradable alternatives, something which no other Northern Ireland supermarket has committed to so firmly.
“Last year was a pivotal year for us with meaningful initiatives established, grown and nurtured. With 38 stores, over 850 employees and significant investment and further growth planned, we’re delighted that our high quality, low price promise continues to resonate among an increasingly loyal and growing customer base, and we look forward to continuing to serve their needs in the year ahead.”
