Lidl will give up certain stores, which will cease their activities at the beginning of 2025.
Lidl is recognized for its attractiveness, particularly in terms of price. In a recent survey by Bonial and Ipsosthe German brand clearly stands out on criteria linked to prices and the generosity of promotions. This success allowed Lidl to expand to more than 1,580 stores throughout France and to launch its e-commerce site in 2023. The chain continues to open new points of sale and currently offers a whole range of products for the end-of-year holidays.
However, the discount brand must today give up part of its activity. According to information from Challengesthe group will close some of its online stores, bringing together the activity of around twenty employees. First, it will put an end to “Lidl Vins”, the online store specializing in the sale of wines and spirits. If the site is going to close, that does not mean that the brand will no longer sell bottles. Physical stores will still offer them and the wine fair will be perpetuated, given its success with consumers.
Another important specialist sector will no longer be available. This is Lidl Travel. Since 2017, Lidl has launched into offering stays. To date, 30% of these sales were linked to trips to France. 23,000 stays in 93 destinations were offered last year. The brand also revealed that the average basket per file, all destinations combined, reached 1728 euros, a significant gain.
However, in this sector, Lidl faces a lot of competition, particularly with Leclerc and Carrefour. In addition, last September, Mélanie Lemarchand, behind the creation of Lidl Voyages, left her position, already damaging this branch. By the end of 2023, she had noted a 20% drop in reservations.
These two activities will therefore cease at the beginning of 2025. The objective is to refocus the brand on food. “The setbacks keep coming for Lidl in France: a president demoted to vice-president, stores that are often poorly run and a customer base that migrates to other brands,” a competitor told Challenges. Lidl’s withdrawal from wine and travel e-commerce “will inevitably cause some turbulence” and “constitute a huge surprise in the world of mass distribution”, adds the media. Lidl is also suffering from a drop in sales of non-food products, which the discounter would like to make up for in particular thanks to its website.