We opened the doors to our first Lidl GB store in 1994. Today, 28 years later, we’re proud to have more than 960 stores and 14 regional distribution centres filled with 33,000 exceptional team members across Britain.
The secret to our success? The highest quality products at the lowest possible prices. A commitment to the very best service. And a group of incredible colleagues to take us forward and into the future.
No matter your role, you’ll find that you can make your mark on our success story. We’re always looking for motivated people who are ready to join us in making our stores, products and shopping experience the best they can be. There’s never been a better time to be Lidl like us.
Lidl GB's history
1994 - 1999
We opened our first ever Regional Distribution Centre in Lutterworth and our first ten British stores in 1994, stocked with only 800 products. In 1996, our second Regional Distribution Centre opened in Livingston, quickly followed by our next one in Weston Super Mare. 1999 saw us move into our Head Office in Wimbledon, as we also began selling meat and poultry.
2000 - 2005
In 2000, we opened our Runcorn Regional Distribution Centre, quickly followed by our next one in Belvedere in 2001. We introduced balers to our warehouses in 2002, increasing recycling uptake and reducing costs. In 2003, we welcomed one million customers into our stores, closely followed by the opening of our first high street store in Edinburgh and our Regional Distribution Centre in Bridgend in 2004. In 2005, we introduced daily waste and recycling returns, reducing our carbon footprint.
2006 – 2010
2006 introduced the PWC (Personnel Welfare Consultant) role to our business, showing our commitment to employee welfare, before implementing new energy saving technology in 2007. In 2008, we launched our deluxe brand and opened our Regional Distribution Centre in Newton Aycliffe. 2009 marked the opening of our 500th store, an increase in our employee holiday allowance by two days, and in 2010 we introduced half price weekends.
2011 – 2015
In 2011, we introduced our first bakeries and employee long service awards, followed by the Lidl Olympics and ‘pick by voice’ in our warehouses in 2012. From 2013 to 2014, we launched our first Christmas Surprises campaign, the Team Lidl Rewards scheme, introduced sabbatical leave and healthy checkouts, released the employee discount card and opened our Northfleet Regional Distribution Centre. In 2015, we opened our Regional Distribution Centre in Southampton.
2016 - 2020
We introduced our Training Academy in 2016, and in 2017 opened distribution centres in Exeter and Wednesbury, and started our partnership with the NSPCC. In 2018, we opened our Avonmouth Regional Distribution Centre, introduced bags for life in stores and launched our Too Good to Waste initiative. We opened distribution centres in Doncaster and Motherwell in 2019. We also introduced the Get Fresh initiative, and celebrated our 25 year anniversary!