‘Horrible’ shoppers are sobbing when a supermarket with 960 stores has to close its doors within a few days
Shoppers are crying as a discount supermarket confirms the closure of a key site ahead of demolition.
Lidl will close 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.
It’s not all bad news though, as Lidl has confirmed it is investing to bring a bigger and better supermarket to the area.
Construction work on the new store is expected to start soon and last a year, with reopening expected before Easter 2025.
One customer responded to the news on Facebook, saying: “That parking lot is horrible.
“I hurt my ankle trying to push the trolley and avoid the potholes.”
Another said: “So that’s why when I was in the other day they all had bu**er.”
“I’m looking forward to the new store… I’m so happy for all the friendly staff who are being relocated while the new store is under construction,” said a third customer.
In the meantime, customers can access other stores in the area on Bothwell Road, Uddingston and Muir Street, Hamilton.
How can I save on my supermarket shopping?
There are plenty of ways to save money at your grocery store.
You can look for yellow or red stickers on products, which indicate when they are discounted.
If the food is fresh, eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money because you’ll be less likely to make hasty purchases when you go to the grocery store.
Choosing your own brand can be an easy way to save hundreds of dollars a year on your food bill, too.
This means ditching the ‘best’ or ‘luxury’ products and instead opting for ‘own’ or value-for-money lines.
Many supermarkets have shaky fruit and vegetable programs where you can get cheap prices if they are misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering 5kg boxes of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you could potentially get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers, which you can also use at the supermarket.
In addition, many municipalities offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Lidl confirmed last month that it wants to open twelve new stores in Britain and has revealed which locations deserve the necessary attention.
The chain is looking for investors to build twelve supermarkets, which they can then lease to the supermarket chain to operate on their behalf.
Currently only 20% of the approximately 960 UK stores are leasehold.
In a financing pitch to The Sun, Lidl is asking for a 25-year lease for the new stores.
These will then be subject to five annual rent reviews based on open market values.
The pitch also indicates at which twelve locations Lidl wants to open new supermarkets.
These include:
- Alexandria
- Birmingham
- Bovey Tracey
- Bristol
- Crediton
- Downham Market
- Hull
- Manchester
- Noordampton
- Reading
- Red car
- Saffron Walden.
It comes just under a year after the discount supermarket chain, which already has 960 branches, published the full list of its priority locations where it would like to open stores.
The possible locations are high street stores, standalone stores, mixed-use stores or stores in shopping centers.
Locations also being looked at include retail parks, as well as metropolitan stores in London and the M25.
The full list, of 1,168 locations, includes locations in all parts 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 is important to note that the locations listed represent potential locations only.
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.
Any potential new location must be easily accessible to pedestrians and have space for parking.
The chain is looking for more than 1.5 hectares for standalone stores and up to 4 hectares for mixed-use locations.
The locations must offer space for 18,000 and 26,500 square meters and 100 special parking spaces.
In addition, there is a finder’s fee for members of the public who can help find sites for the new development.
Lidl has offered a compensation of 1.5% of the total purchase price for freehold land or 10% of the first year’s rent for leasehold.
It opened 50 new stores in 2022 and cut another 15 new stores in the past three months.
You can find the nearest Lidl store via the website.
The discount supermarket is making a major change to the price tags in its stores.
Lidl is switching from paper price tags to electronic shelf labels in all its 960 stores.
It follows a trial at 35 Lidl stores, including those in Epsom and Tooting.
The small digital screens display all the information you would normally expect to see on a label, such as 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.