Lidl's U.K. Christmas Sales Up 11%

By Matteo Castia

Lidl Great Britain Ltd. said Friday that sales for the four-week Christmas period rose 11% year-on-year, as more customers came into its shops.

The German discount retailer--which has 790 stores across the U.K.--also said that it continued investing during the four weeks ended Dec. 29, 2019 in an effort to enhance its store portfolio. This is part of its 1.45 billion pounds ($1.90 billion) expansion program for the U.K. market.

Lidl, which together with its German peer Aldi has been taking market share from the big four U.K. grocers, said its busiest trading day was Dec. 23 as customers stocked up ahead of Christmas Eve.

Earlier this week Aldi reported that sales topped GBP1 billion in the U.K. for the first time in the four weeks leading to Christmas. Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN), J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) and Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) have all reported trading updates this week.

Lidl and Aldi between them have a 13.7% share of the U.K. grocery market, according to data from Kantar.

Write to Matteo Castia at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 10, 2020 03:51 ET (08:51 GMT)

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