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‘It was a risk’: Lidl on its quest to conquer the UK by surprise
From grocery minnow with a perception problem to stealing chunks of market share from the ‘big four’, Lidl flipped the script in 2013 by ditching its established leaflet marketing strategy in favour of long-term creative idea ‘Lidl Surprises’.
German discounter Lidl made its UK debut in 1994 with 10 stores selling just 800 product lines. Together with fierce rival Aldi, which had made it to British shores four years earlier, the German supermarkets were attempting to break into a UK grocery market dominated by Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
