Why is Lidl so Cheap?

[Rhyolith]

I don't trust cheap supermarkets, it always seems that they make things cheap by exploiting people and having no regard for enviromental destruction.

Lidl seems to be getting very popular and looking at the absurdly cheap prices, I can see why. However I won't shop there until I know how such low prices are acheived and what corners are being cut to do it.

 

[RobinBHM]

Or are other supermarkets expensive?

I think Lidl, for grocery items has a more honest pricing policy. Generally the price is the price, not buy 2 for £5.00 etc etc that the others are all guilty of. I get really fed up with the manipulation of pricing so you never know what the real price actually is.

Also Lidl has a much smaller product range, say 5000 products instead of the 20,000 that Tescos have.

I think the big UK supermarkets are all guilty of exploitation, of farmers, cheap labour etc so I cant see how Lidl etc are worse.

 

[transatlantic]

Is it cheap? I disagree

They're marketing strategy is to compare other supermarkets branded goods with their own unbranded goods. What they should be doing is comparing the supermarkets own unbranded 'Value' products. Then it would be a fair comparison, and people would realise that Lidl/Aldi often are no cheaper. Especially when you consider that they don't have any of the special offers you see in the other supermarkets.

I'll still do a little shopping in Alid/Lidl, but will still do my main shop elsewhere. It's not cheaper and there is better choice elsewhere

 

[Cordy]

Not always cheap, a couple of years ago I bought their digital calliper £7
My most used tool by far

Now £9.99

Similar can be bought on the Bay for £5 including postage

 

[Droogs]

Most of the range that Lidle and Aldi sell are their own brands. They make them to the same standards as branded items and this has been borne out by numerous blind taste tests. They also have a policy of keeping the stores basic to lower costs. Though with all the recent exchange fluctuations perhaps we may see less of a saving in the future.

 

[Rorschach]

A whole host of things I would have thought.

Smaller stores have smaller overheads, fewer staff and less "add-on" facilities. They often choose less desirable locations to build their stores and have smaller car parks leading to lower rents or in many cases buying the land outright as it is more affordable given the location anyway. Stores offer a core range of grocery products with a rotating set of specials, no non-grocery items are held in permanent stock unlike the other supermarkets.
As others have said, not everything is cheaper, many products are on a par with the lower price range items found in other supermarkets but rarely do I find that I can get an item cheaper in other places. There is also less choice, say I want to buy chicken breast, Lidl will have it fresh or possibly frozen, 1 pack size usually. Go to tesco, you will find it fresh, frozen and in value, standard and finest ranges, several packs sizes in each range. Keeping stock like that takes up space and costs money, Lidl have 1 size, standard quality. Because they tend to offer just that one choice they save space and money on stock and can offer many more items in a given space so for a small store they can offer a good range of items.

We do a good bit of our shopping in Lidl now, we have a local store that is very close, it stocks a large range of the items we need day to day, the prices are lower or very close to the price our next nearest store Tesco charges and we find the quality to be very good. We save money and time by shopping there. If we need a few things we can walk there instead of taking the car, the trip is less stressful, the staff are better paid and happier than their tesco equivalents, much more friendly and helpful too.

 

[lurker]

Their big overhead saving appears to be:
Cheap sites
small footprint
Big turnover
fast churn (shoppers are not in there long as there is no real choice)

Take tools:
They are often sold out on the day of promotion
Rarely occupy more than a square metre of floor space
Most are decent and so cheap we dont mind loosing and abusing them
I can hardly remember anything i have bought that was not good value

 

[Ian down london way]

And always pounce on the parkside shop vac (or was that the other store?) which is cracking!

 

[clk230]

I don't trust cheap supermarkets, it always seems that they make things cheap by exploiting people and having no regard for enviromental destruction.

Lidl seems to be getting very popular and looking at the absurdly cheap prices, I can see why. However I won't shop there until I know how such low prices are acheived and what corners are being cut to do it.

Do more expensive items not exploit people and cause enviromental destruction ?

I wish I had the time like you do to trace the source of every item I buy to make sure it meets with my moral standards .

 

[Rhyolith]

Their big overhead saving appears to be:
Cheap sites
small footprint
Big turnover
fast churn (shoppers are not in there long as there is no real choice)

This makes a fair bit of sense, I have never seen a Lidl store that I would consider "big" by comparsion to most main stream supermarkets. Co-op also has small stores and is quite a bit more expensive than Lidl in general.

Do more expensive items not exploit people and cause enviromental destruction ?

I wish I had the time like you do to trace the source of every item I buy to make sure it meets with my moral standards .

I basically assume all supermarkets have at least a number of products that are sourced questionably, my preference is to go with co-op as they seem to be the most ethical british supermarket.

I definitly get the impression that cheaper shops tend to be worse ethically than more expensive ones in general, however as you say its very difficult to ever actaully know.

Take tools:
They are often sold out on the day of promotion
Rarely occupy more than a square metre of floor space
Most are decent and so cheap we dont mind loosing and abusing them
I can hardly remember anything i have bought that was not good value

Rant (no offense intended to anyone):
I do have a problem with this "buy cheap, wreck quickly" type tool use (or any other product for that matter), mainly because its god aweful for the environment. Most of these cheap products are made elsewhere in the world (China) and just shipping them over here produces a lot of pollution. Further the production itself produces yet more pollution and involves use of natural resources, who's extraction results in some of worst enviromental destuction committed by man.

All of that is unecessary with tools in particular, as most can be made to last a lifetime (or longer), which in all likelyhood ends up costing less than buying a new cheap tool every few years. Thats particular the case in the UK, as we are lucky enough to have a strong tool heritage and lots of stuff on the secondhand market.

Evidently there are some tools, which are by their nature disposable (such as a wire brush). I would like to see more of these kind of tools in particular being made in the UK. Either way, this mass production, transporting and consuming of cheaply made products on a huge scale needs to stop, it literally cannot be sustained without major sacrifce which really is not worth it.
Rant over

 

[lurker]

I have old British made chisels that are masterpieces and I treat them like holy relics
However I also have lidl ones which are great for bashing rough stuff including the odd nail (and opening paint tins )
So both have a part to play

 

[lurker]

Unfortunately there is nothing to chose from where supermarket ethics are concerned.
All "you can see" is marketing spiel.
Next time there is a food product recall pay close attention to the various supermarkets involved; they all source from pretty much the same place.

 

[kdampney]

Two supermarkets could stock exactly the same own-brand goods:

At one (say, Aldi), in a slightly random semi-industrial location with a small car park, there is little choice of other brands, products are stuck on shelves in their packing boxes, no fancy lighting or music, no spare staff around, older trolleys, and longer queues at the (very long) checkouts with staff who barely look at you*.

At the other (say, Waitrose), with a nicely laid-out car park, there are 17 other varieties of what you want, nice new shelving, nice lighting and piped music, helpful smiley staff, new trolleys, in-store cafe, and almost no queue at the checkout*.

* in my experience anyway.

The exact same product would cost much less at the first, allowing those with less money (and/or perhaps more time) to shop there. The second caters for those with perhaps more money and less time. For (hypothetically) an identical product (though, as someone else pointed out, Aldi and Lidl often do well in blind taste tests). Horses for courses.

 

[marcros]

the model behind aldi and lidl used to be that they tested all of the products, and chose the best example of each. They then used their buying power to get the best possible price for the chosen one. So the lack of choice is very much by design.

 

[Homerjh]

Lidl has a smaller 'stock' than the big stores, and generally only have in pretty much general items, so whilst you may find common items there, you wont find anything specific to a narrow market, so no 'free from' dedicated area, no area dedicated to specific global areas (ie chinese, indian/etc) and limited varieties of what they do stock.

so for example :

Crisps : Lidl has a small section, primarily the own brand, but then some walkers/etc and maybe a box or 2 of special items. Asda, 2 long sections, own brand, and probably 3 or 4 other brands, various pack sizes, offers, specialties of things like popcorn, again multiple flavours and brands.

Canned items : Lidl - small section of commonly bought items and nothing really unusual, asda, probably has more soup varieties and space than the whole of Lidl has for everything.

Drinks, Asda has 1 row of boxed beers, 1 row of bottles (craft as they like to call it now :/) 1 and a bit rows of wine,1 row of spirits, plus end shelves of offers and cider and others about 1/2 row. Lidl, about 3 meters space of beers, and loads of wine, but still about 1/3 of asdas (BTW lidl 89p bottles are really nice, try them!)

Also the central sections of lidl that change weekly, this is also used to et people in as well, and some good offers sometimes.

 

[doctor Bob]

A lot of Lidl own brands taste like sh!te, their fruit and veg is woeful.
Tried it for a few months and realised I'd rather spend a few Bob more and get decent food and get through the till in a respectful manner, rather than the till person throwing my goods down a bowling ally.
I can stand people fingering food as well, the clientele in Lidl are obsessed with picking stuff up and breathing all over it, disgusting.

 

[lurker]

Maybe you live in a rough area Bob. My local lidl is fine as are the check out staff, no mucking around but perfectly pleasant.

 

[Rorschach]

A lot of Lidl own brands taste like sh!te, their fruit and veg is woeful.
Tried it for a few months and realised I'd rather spend a few Bob more and get decent food and get through the till in a respectful manner, rather than the till person throwing my goods down a bowling ally.
I can stand people fingering food as well, the clientele in Lidl are obsessed with picking stuff up and breathing all over it, disgusting.

No problem with their brands here, and if you don't pick up the fruit and veg how do you know what is good, maybe that's why you don't like it? :wink:

 

[Homerjh]

I eat veg that has been covered in soil, had all sorts of creatures eat bits and poo on it, and been outside for ages...a quick wash sorts that ;-)

 

[doctor Bob]

I eat veg that has been covered in soil, had all sorts of creatures eat bits and poo on it, and been outside for ages...a quick wash sorts that ;-)

As I do, i prefer this to some filthy scuzbags dirty fingers all over it, some of the sights in my local lidl look like they haven't had a bath for a few years.