‘Horrendous’ sob shoppers as discount supermarket with 960 stores to close shop in days ahead of demolition
SHOPPERS are sobbing as a discount supermarket confirms the closure of a key site ahead of demolition.
Lidl is closing its supermarket on Whistleberry Road in Blantyre this weekend.
The branch will close from 10pm on Saturday, March 16 to clear the site for demolition.
However it’s not all bad news, as Lidl has confirmed that it is investing to bring a bigger and better supermarket to the area.
Construction work for the new store is expected to start soon and take up to a year, with re-opening expected prior to Easter 2025.
Reacting to the news on Facebook, one shopper said: “That carpark is horrendous.
“Hurt my ankle trying to push trolly, avoiding the potholes.”
Another said: “So that’s why when I was in the other day, they had bu**er all.”
“Looking forward to new store… So happy for all the friendly staff being relocated while new store under construction,” said a third shopper.
In the meantime, customers can access other stores in the vicinity on Bothwell Road, Uddingston, and Muir Street, Hamilton.
How can I save on my supermarket shop?
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Lidl confirmed last month that it is looking to open 12 new stores across the UK and has revealed which locations are due attention.
The chain is looking for investors to build 12 supermarkets, which they can then lease to the supermarket chain to operate on their behalf.
Currently, only 20% of its roughly 960 UK stores are leasehold.
In a funding pitch seen by The Sun, Lidl is asking for the new stores to come with a 25-year lease.
These will then be subject to five yearly rent reviews based on open market values.
The pitch also details which 12 locations Lidl is looking to open new supermarkets.
These include:
- Alexandria
- Birmingham
- Bovey Tracey
- Bristol
- Crediton
- Downham Market
- Hull
- Manchester
- Northampton
- Reading
- Redcar
- Saffron Walden.
It comes just under a year after the discount supermarket chain, which already has 960 sites, published the full list of its priority locations where it would like to open shops.
The potential locations would be for high street, standalone, mixed use, or shopping centre stores.
Sites also being looked at include retail parks, as well as metropolitan shops in London and M25.
The full list, of which there are 1,168 locations, includes sites across all areas of Great Britain – including: 66 in Scotland, 83 in Yorkshire, 83 in central England, 91 in south London and 42 in south-mid Wales.
It’s important to note that the locations listed represent only potential sites.
Lidl says only a small number will eventually be developed and opened as stores.
But, the retailer has confirmed a new target of 1,100 stores by the end of 2025, creating 4,000 new jobs.
Each possible new location must have easy access for pedestrians and space for parking.
The chain is looking for more than 1.5 acres for standalone shops and up to four acres for mixed-use sites.
The sites must accommodate 18,000 and 26,500 sq ft and 100 dedicated car parking spaces.
Plus, there’s a finder’s fee to members of the public who can help find sites for the new development.
Lidl has offered a fee of 1.5% of the total freehold purchase price or 10% of the first year’s rent for leaseholds.
In 2022, it opened 50 new shops and has cut the ribbon on 15 more just in the last three months.
You can find your nearest Lidl store by visiting the website.
The discount supermarket is in the process of making a major change to pricing tags in stores.
Lidl is switching from paper pricing tags to electronic shelf labels at all of its 960 branches.
It follows a trial at 35 Lidl stores including those in Epsom and Tooting.
The tiny digital screens will display all the information you’d usually expect to see on a label like the cost, weight and unit price.
All Lidl supermarkets will see the change rolled out by the end of this year.
It will gradually introduce the labels section by section over the coming months.