Lidl GB slipped to a loss in the year to February 2023 as the discount supermarket continued its aggressive expansion plan which involved opening more stores than any other UK rival.
Posting a loss of £75.9 million for the financial year compared to an underlying profit of £41.1 million the year before, the German-owned retailer said the shift to the red came after “a relentless focus on price” with investments of £100 million in price cuts and £50 million in wage increases.
Upping its market share in the UK from 6.1% to 7.1%, the privately owned grocer grew at its fastest rate in over five years, opening 50 stores which it said helped gain an additional 1.4 million customers.
Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB CEO: “We've always had a clear commitment to offer the best value to our customers and that is a promise we will always keep, even in uncertain economic times. Alongside preserving this price promise, rewarding our people and maintaining long-term relationships with our suppliers will always be a priority.”
Lidl said it spent over £4 billion sourcing goods from British companies last year and has “reaffirmed its commitment” to buy from UK-based sellers wherever possible going forward.
Sales for the financial year jumped by close to 19% to £9.3 billion from £7.8 billion.
“The entire retail market has seen inflation, and we are no exception. However, for us, what is important is that our price gap to the traditional supermarkets is as strong as it has ever been,” said McDonnell in the company’s trading statement.
High-end supermarket Waitrose posted a £504 million trading operating profit in its first half, however, due to falling sales at John Lewis, the overarching partnership ended up posting losses of £56.2 million.