50 years of Lidl

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In 1973 Dieter Schwarz (83) opened his first discount store in Ludwigshafen DE: Lidl was born. He copied the concept from Aldi. Meanwhile, two discounters – along with Denner – compete for Swiss customers.

Lidl has only been in Switzerland since 2003. It took another seven years for the first branches to open. After a difficult start, the branch network has grown to 160 stores. Blick tells you seven exciting facts:

Lidl Switzerland is currently one of the best places to work in Switzerland. In a survey by the Great Place to Work consulting firm, Lidl Switzerland was ranked 10th among top employers in large companies this year. In Switzerland, the discounter employs 4,500 people.

Lidl does not disclose sales figures for Switzerland, market research firm GFK estimates it to be between 2 and 2.5 billion francs for 2021.

It pays “the highest minimum wage in the industry”, according to Lidl: at least CHF 4,500 for all employees in Switzerland. 13 and full time. But if you look closely, Aldi pays a little more. Aldi’s difference: “Whatever the workload, we definitely have the highest GAV guaranteed minimum wage in the industry, it’s fully BVG insured,” emphasizes a spokesperson.

Half of all employees are 80 to 100 percent, and a good 40 percent “really” work part-time. First of all, students and temporary workers would work at up to 30 percent. This affects about 10 percent of the workforce. No one is hired by the hour.

As a discounter, Lidl buys large quantities from manufacturers relatively cheaply and can therefore also offer lower prices than retailers such as Migros or Coop. Discounters often rely on self-service and do, for example, without meters. But Lidl is increasingly focusing on regional products.

However, prices should remain low. Torsten Friedrich, 45, president of Lidl Switzerland, said in an interview with Blick last year: “Our motto is: You buy a full shopping cart with us for 50 francs. That’s how it is and will stay that way.”

In 2019, it delivered a discounting blow: with its own cult sneaker for CHF 14.99. It all started as an April Fools’ joke. The first print of 400 copies sold out quickly – the influx of customers was great.

The sneaker is on sale in Switzerland from summer 2020. An hour later it was already sold out. The following year, Lidl followed suit with socks and flip-flops – Lidlettes. This was also a limited edition. By the way, sneakers can only be found on sales platforms such as Ricardo.

Also in 2019, Lidl entered the cell phone subscription business. There are now four different subscriptions that Lidl offers with the mobile operator Salt. The cheapest subscription is currently 12 francs per month. However, this is a discount campaign.

With the Danish company “Too good to go”, Lidl is campaigning against food waste. A third of food goes to waste in Switzerland.

For this reason, products selected from Lidl’s own production are usually given the “last longer” note. Lidl was the first retailer to introduce it in Switzerland. Some Lidl branches also offer food via the “Too good to go” app to save them from the trash.

Dieter Schwarz (83) opened the first Lidl branch in 1973. After the death of his father, he took over the food wholesaler Lidl & Schwarz KG. In 1977 there were already 30 branches – all in Germany.

Dieter Schwarz is now the richest German. His fortune is estimated at 43.6 billion euros. Kaufland is also owned by the Schwarz Group – but Lidl is the most important part of the group.

Source :Blick