Pestel analysis, Lidl, Josef Schwarz, Dieter Schwarz, hard discount, grocery store, discount grocers, discounter, LidlPlusWlan, Marine Stewardship Council
Founded in 1973 by father and son team, Josef and Dieter Schwarz, in Ludwigshafen, Germany the original Lidl company had 3 employees and sold around 500 products. During the 1990s the company expanded and started opening stores across the European continent. Twenty-one years later the group opened their first Lidl store in Great Britain. Lidl UK employees over 25,000 people in more than 800 stores across the country. They also have 13 regional distribution centres across the region with more than three quarters of their products being locally sourced.
[...] PESTEL Analysis - Lidl I. Introduction A. Presentation of Lidl Founded in 1973 by father and son team, Josef and Dieter Schwarz, in Ludwigshafen, Germany the original Lidl company had 3 employees and sold around 500 products. During the 1990s the company expanded and started opening stores across the European continent. Twenty-one years later the group opened their first Lidl store in Great Britain. Lidl UK employees over 25,000 people in more than 800 stores across the country. They also have 13 regional distribution centres across the region with more than three quarters of their products being locally sourced. [...]
[...] This technology is available in more than 250 Lidl stores across the country. The Schwarz Group recently collaborated with DFKI (Deutsche Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz), a German artificial intelligence research centre, in order to improve their stationary trading operations. The company has been involved in several other AI projects related to robotics and language assistance systems over the past few years. E. Environmental Consumers around the globe are becoming more and more aware of the impact of their actions and lifestyles are having on the planet and are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint and sustainability. [...]
[...] In order to change the consumers' perception of the brand, they have focused on supplying healthier products which do not contain artificial colours or hydrogenated fats. The brand obtained MSC certification (Marine Stewardship Council) by sourcing sustainable wild fresh and frozen fish. To show how much they value their relationship with their customers and reinforce their reputation and brand image, the company have also introduced entertainment vouchers for their clients. These include free entry into attractions such as Sea Life Centres, amusement parks and LEGOLAND. [...]
[...] Everyone has felt the impact of the pandemic, and consumers spending habits have also changed as people are looking at ways of saving money by looking at discount grocers in these difficult times. C. Presentation of PESTEL Analysis A PESTEL analysis looks at the political, economic, sociological, technological and ecological factors which have an effect on a company's operations. In order to carry out an effective PESTEL analysis, companies need to make a list of all of these external factors and then define ones which are threats and ones which provide opportunities for the company to improve its market share and brand image. [...]
[...] However, the recent financial crisis and global coronavirus pandemic have had a major impact on economies around the world. This has provided an opportunity for Lidl to expand their market and they are now able to include the middle to upper- middle-class consumers as their target range. By slightly changing their marketing and product offerings, they have been able to capture more and more of this market. Ethically Lidl has not had the best reputation but the company continues to work hard at improving their image and has fostered many partnerships and collaborations to prove to their customers that they are indeed socially and environmentally accountable. [...]
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