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Lidl Ireland spending on Irish goods & services hits €2bn

Lidl Ireland CEO Robert Ryan and Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon
Lidl Ireland CEO Robert Ryan with Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon

Lidl Ireland spent more than €2 billion on Irish goods and services last year, a 20% increase on 2024.

The grocery chain said that €1.4 billion of that was on goods from the country's agrifood sector, which represents a 13% rise year-on-year.

"Consistently, more and more customers are shopping with us - we have over two million customers coming through our doors each week across the island - so it really shows the demand is there from our customer," said Robert Ryan, CEO of Lidl Ireland. "And we've invested significantly in our Irish supply over the last number of years."

He cited the company's 'Kickstart' programme as key to that - as it gives investment and shelf-space opportunities to small suppliers across the country.

Lidl's latest figures also show a significant increase in spending on services - up 40% year-on-year to €595m.

Mr Ryan said that would include spending on the likes of advertising and marketing through the year.

Meanwhile €404m worth of Irish goods were exported to be sold in Lidl stores across Europe and the US - a 12.5% increase on 2024.

"Liffey Meats, who supply all our Bord Bia Irish beef, they have an export deal with us to be on the shelves throughout Europe; Keohane's Seafood in West Cork recently had a €30m export deal," Mr Ryan said.

"So if you're shopping in Germany or Switzerland, you'll be able to find Irish seafood products on the shelves of the stores over there," he added.

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Having endured years of significant increases in grocery prices, there was hope that consumers would see something of a price war between grocery chains this year.

Mr Ryan said that Lidl was committed to having the lowest prices on the market - but he says shoppers are also increasingly aware of the quality that is available from cheaper, own brand products.

"When you link it back to our supplier report more and more customers, I think, realise that they can get incredibly high-quality products for a price - when it's under private label - that is 30% to 40% cheaper than the brand alternative," he said.

Last year Lidl Ireland announced a €600m investment programme, which included new store openings, shop upgrades and a new distribution centre in Cork.

It followed a €550m investment programme announced in 2021, representing significant growth of the brand in Ireland.

Despite that, the latest figures from Worldpanel show its market share in Ireland has held relatively stable.

At the end of last year Lidl had a 13% share of the Irish grocery market, compared to a 12.5% share at the end of 2023.

However Mr Ryan said they were happy with the growth the company had achieved so far in Ireland.

"We're very happy with the market share - we've been growing significantly faster than our competitors for the last number of years," he said. "We're almost at 14% market share - when you think of where we've come from, that's pretty significant."