I’ve been a Lidl fan for years. You know a brand is headed for great things, when the double income, no kids brigade starts dividing their shopping between Waitrose and Lidl. When my good friends, Wilhelm and Christophe started serving Lidl wine at their starry dinner parties about 8 years ago, I knew it was only a matter of time.
But I don’t think the rise of Lidl and indeed of Aldi is simply a matter of a downturn in the economy coupled with those stores’ efforts in repackaging their offers. While Lidl was spiffing things up, Tesco and Sainsbury’s were expanding their economy offers. I think it has as much to do with a trend of people with disposable income becoming a tad more thoughtful about how they spend it. If you can get good continental chocolate, good wine and decent local produce while saving a little and not being too flash – well that’s a good brand to associate yourself with.
However, I don’t see these consumers giving up their latest iPhones for a flip-phone any time soon.
Brand Vox 