The chain will maintain the expansion pace of 2013 and will reach a network of 183 stores at the end of the year, due to a strong increase of sales and of the number of customers. “We will keep the expansion pace in order to meet the demands of an increasing number of customers, from more regions of the country,” says Maksymilian Braniecki, chairman of the Board of Lidl.

The investment in a Lidl store amounts to approximately EUR 1 M, a sum that includes both the land and the construction of the store. Lidl has not posted the results for 2012, but a report made public by the Competition Council at the end of last year states that Lidl exceeded chains like Real and Auchan, meaning that the Germans had a turnover in excess of EUR 650 M. For 2011, the German group posted a turnover under EUR 400 M, which would give an increase by more than 64 pc last year. (source: nineoclock.ro)