Discount Retail Chain Lidl UK (owned by German Schwarz Gruppe) is opening three new London stores in one day as part of a £500m (US$700mio) investment in expansion in the capital. The stores opened in Richmond, Putney and Tooting.
The 12,000 sq ft Richmond Road store, plans for which were announced 2020, is housing a school on the floors above it. The new home for Deer Park Primary School has 16 classrooms, outdoor learning space and a multi-use games area. It’s due to welcome over 230 pupils from April.
The new 9,000 sq ft store on Upper Tooting Road is replacing one on the same street, which was set to close this week, with all existing staff retained. The third new store, on Putney High Street, has a sales area of just 6,000 sq ft, making it one of the smallest in Lidl’s estate.
All three have in-store bakeries and “ample parking for both cars and bicycles”, according to Lidl. Between them the stores are creating about 80 jobs.
“It is fantastic that despite the challenging circumstances we have been able to continue our investment in south London and enable even more of the local community access to our high-quality and affordable produce,” said Lidl GB regional head of property Henry Neel. “I would like to welcome the students of Deer Park Primary School to their new home when they make the move this Easter, and to thank everyone who has played a part in delivering this ambitious development.
“These exciting new store openings demonstrate we’re embracing the wide range of locations that London has to offer.”
Lidl announced a five-year £500m (US$700mio) London expansion plan in 2019. It’s expected to create around 1,400 jobs in total. The latest openings follow one in Hackbridge earlier this month.
UK wide Lidl opened 20 new stores in one month this helped it hit its targets despite the COVID pandemic. Lidl must open more than 50 UK stores a year to hit its long-term target of 1,000 by 2023
See here for more: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/lidl/20-new-stores-in-one-month-help-lidl-hit-target-despite-pandemic/654567.article
Comments