THE boss of Lidl has spilled the supermarket’s festive secrets to The Sun in an exclusive chat.
In his first interview since being promoted to the top job two years ago, Ryan McDonnell spoke about how the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket is gearing up for Christmas.
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He reckoned: “It has been a tough year for consumers but we are confident going into Christmas because people are switching to us for our low prices.”
The cost-of-living crisis has seen shoppers switch to Lidl to cut food bills, with around 90 per cent of its products being own-brand.
It came as the competition watchdog hit out at popular food brands for hiking prices above food inflation to protect profits.
Mr McDonnell said: “Shoppers are switching to us from all the supermarkets.
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“More people are realising they can do a full shop with us, save money, get good quality food and we have better brand-awareness.”
He added Lidl had poached £685million worth of sales from rivals over the past year, with £58million alone coming from Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Ocado.
And he pointed to the cost of an average shop at Lidl, saying: “We are still £10 cheaper than Tesco and £17 cheaper than Waitrose.”
Figures by Kantar show Lidl has 7.6 per cent of the UK grocery market and Mr McDonnell said: “I think we can get into double digits on market share.”
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Lidl now has 960 UK shops, 31,000 staff and 14 warehouses but is still the sixth- biggest supermarket, behind Morrisons, Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
The chain is often compared to fellow German discounter Aldi, which broke into the traditional Big Four last year.
Mr McDonnell said: “There’s no secret we are similar but we just focus on ourselves.”
In signs people have started Christmas early, Lidl said there was an 11 per cent increase in shoppers visiting stores over the past six weeks, compared with the previous year.
Mr McDonnell said Lidl was already selling two mince pies every second, while shoppers are buying a mini snow globe from its “middle aisle” every two seconds.
My big feast
RYAN McDonnell says of his own ideal Christmas dinner: “I keep it very traditional.
“Smoked salmon to start.
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“Turkey, ham, stuffing and all the trimmings.
“And a warm mince pie with fresh cream.”
Halford’s shares go for a spin
ALMOST a fifth of Halfords’ value was wiped off yesterday as the market was spooked by a slowdown in sales.
The retailer cut its guidance for next year after saying bike sales had been lower than expected as shoppers delay big purchases due to the cost-of-living crisis.
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Halfords shares closed down 19 per cent, at 185p.
Its chief executive Graham Stapleton said he found the market reaction “frustrating”, as the business was delivering on a plan to grow its car service arm at the same time as gaining bike market share.
He called the sell-off “a steeper decline than expected”.
The company recently ended merger talks with van rental firm Redde Northgate after disagreeing over price.
But Halfords is now at greater risk of a takeover as a result of the share fall.
Mr Stapleton said: “It is always a risk for any business but we are not in any talks at the moment.”
Hope on housing
THE number of mortgage approvals rose in October, for the first time in nine months.
Bank of England figures show there were 47,400 approved in October, up from 43,700 in September and ahead of economist forecasts.
It suggests there could be fresh life in the housing market as buyers and lenders felt more confident after the Bank of England kept interest rates at 5.25 per cent, rather than punishing would-be home-owners with even higher rates.
Bailey ‘realist’
THE Governor of the Bank of England has hit back at suggestions he is too gloomy.
Andrew Bailey said yesterday: “I’ve been written up this week as being an ultra-pessimist. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a realist view.”
Mr Bailey induced groans from economists as he claimed that the outlook for the UK was the worst he had ever seen in his career.
Mr Bailey said the Bank was still focused on bringing inflation down to the 2 per cent target, adding: “That is the best thing we can do for growth.”
DELIVEROO will start delivering DIY, homeware and electrical goods.
The food-ordering app says its customers are cutting back on takeaways but it still hopes to boost earnings over the next three years with deliveries from Boots and Screwfix.
Saudi’s fly by
SAUDI Arabia’s wealth fund has swooped on a 10 per cent stake in Heathrow.
The Public Investment Fund, which owns Newcastle United, made the investment in a deal with Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial.
Ferrovial is also selling the other 15 per cent of its stake in the airport to French private equity firm Ardian.
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The £2.4billion combined sale ends Ferrovial’s 17-year-long investment at the airport.
It had been in talks to offload its interest in Heathrow since last August.
