Lidl

Infobox Company
company_name = Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG
company_
company_type = German Multi-National
company_slogan = Where quality is cheaper
foundation = 1930s
location = Neckarsulm, Germany
key_people = Dieter Schwarz, Chairman and CEO
Gunter Schwarz CEO
Michael Dönherp CFO
industry = Retail (Grocery)
num_employees =
products = Mainly own brand, with a few larger and regional brands
revenue = $ 45.9 billion (2005) [cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,460199,00.html|YUTYRI8R679IIIIIIIII E67Utitle=Aldi abgehängt? de icon|publisher=SPIEGEL Online|date=2006-01-16|accessdate=2006-01-17]
homepage = [http://www.lidl-info.com www.lidl-info.com]

Lidl is a European discount supermarket chain of German origin that operates 7,000 stores. In Germany it is Aldi's main competitor. The full name of the company is "Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG". It belongs to the holding company Schwarz, which also owns the store chains Handelshof and Kaufland.

Lidl (l-E-dl) has established itself in over 17 countries. It was founded in the 1930s by a member of the Schwarz family; then called Schwarz Lebensmittel-Sortimentsgrosshandlung. In the 1970s, the first Lidl stores of today's incarnation opened.

Lidl is not an abbreviation, but the last name of Ludwig Lidl, a retired teacher. In 1930, Josef Schwarz became a partner in Südfrüchte Grosshandel Lidl & Co., a fruit wholesaler, and he developed the company into a general food wholesaler. In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, Lidl&Schwarz began to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry wholesale markets. The first Lidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi concept. In 1977, the Lidl chain comprised 30 discount stores. Dieter Schwarz's problem was that he could not just start using the Lidl name. As Schwarz Markt (literally Black Market) did not seem a good idea, he bought the right to use the Lidl name from Ludwig for 1000 Deutsche MarkFact|date=April 2008.

Store Layout

All Lidl stores follow the same basic layout flow with tins and carbonated drinks in the first aisle and alcohol in the last. The chiller always runs along the back wall of the store, with chilled convenience foods such as sandwiches, pasta salads and fruit in the first chiller bay. Older stores did not have aisle breaks (gaps in between the shelving) that ensured customers followed the flow of the store. This practice has been largely reduced with older stores being re-merchandised to accommodate these breaks. Fruit and vegetables are always in the first aisle of the store, as are bread and cakes.

Till Procedures

Till procedure is very similar between other German discount stores such as Aldi, cashiers are expected to be fast and accurate.Customers are expected to load all the shopping on the conveyor belt and place their trolley in a specific place, the cashier will often ensure this happens. The cashier will the scan the products through the till, this is sped up as the products often have multiple, large barcodes. Customers are encouraged to pack the shopping away from the till as this helps the cashier move onto the next customer, keeping customer flow high and the need for other cashiers low. Tills that aren’t being used have ‘gates’ to prevent customers walking through without paying.

Cashiers are required to learn a 5 digit product number and/or a 2 digit PLU number for every ‘non-scanning’ item, such as fruit and vegetables. This increases productivity for the cashier as there is no need to browse menus to find the correct product but can slow progress if they don’t know the correct number.

There is no customer service desk and as such any till can be used to process refunds or look up prices. This practice is protected by a lock on the tills keyboard that enables manager specific functions when unlocked.

Criticism of Lidl treatment of staff

Trade unions in Germany and other countries have repeatedly criticised Lidl for mistreatment of workers, breach of European directives on working time and other abuses. These have been published in the "Black Book on the Schwarz Retail Company" published in Germany and now available in English. [cite web|url=http://lidl.verdi.de/schwarz-buch/schwarz-buch_uebersetzt/data/Order%20Black%20Book%20Lidl|title=Black Book on Lidl in English|format=pdf] The Guardian in the UK amongst other allegations has reported that Lidl spies on its workforce with cameras, makes extensive notes on employee behaviour, particularly focusing on attempting to sack female workers who might become pregnant and also forces staff at warehouses to do "piece-rate" work which is now illegal in the EU. Lidl management denied the charges. No public information is given on the Lidl website about how to contact Lidl senior management and the company hides its ownership structure behind an elaborate network of front companies. [cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/supermarkets/story/0,,2033346,00.html|publisher=The Guardian|title=Cheap - but not so cheerful? An analysis of Lidl.|date=March 14 2007] In Italy, in 2003, a judge in Savona sentenced Lidl for anti-union policies, a crime in that country. [it iconcite news|url=http://www.filcams.cgil.it/stampa.nsf/97b04b26541301cbc125690a005317a6/33cd7b2012094337c1256d5e004dfdde!OpenDocument|publisher=Il Magazine|title=Il tribunale di Savona condanna Lidl Italia per comportamento antisindacale|date=9 July 2003]

In March 2008 the German news magazine "Stern" came up with a cover story reporting systematic surveillance of Lidl workers, including most intimate details of their private affairs. [de icon [http://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/unternehmen/:%DCberwachungsskandal-%DCble-Zitate-Lidl-Protokollen/615056.html?eid=614772 stern.de] - Überwachungsskandal bei Lidl (video)] [de icon [http://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/unternehmen/:%DCberwachungsskandal-%DCble-Zitate-Lidl-Protokollen/615153.html?eid=614772 stern.de] - Entsetzen über Lidls Stasi-Methoden] [de icon [http://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/unternehmen/:%DCberwachungsskandal-%DCble-Zitate-Lidl-Protokollen/614776.html?eid=614772 stern.de] - Zitate aus den Lidl-Protokollen]

Countries with Lidl branches

Current

References

External links

Corporate site

* [http://www.lidl-info.com Official homepage] (includes links to national sites)

Data

* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/55/55154.html Yahoo! — Lidl & Schwarz Stiftung & Co. KG Company Profile]

Critical references

* [http://www.redpepper.org.uk/KYE/x-kye-Mar2005.htm Every Lidl Hurts]
* [http://www.verdi-blog.de/lidl Ver.di's black book] de icon
* [http://www.union-network.org/Unisite/Sectors/Commerce/Multinationals/Lidl_demanded_armbands.htm Lidl demanded that Czech and Polish women workers wear special headbands during their monthly periods]
* [http://www.union-network.org/UNISITE/Sectors/Commerce/Multinationals/Lidl_Finnish_TV_news_show.htm German hard discounter exposed as bad employer and threat to consumers and suppliers]
* [http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,524114,00.html Current stores number] de icon