NOVEMBER 2015

MARKETING AUDIT FOR LIDL

PRESENTED BY: REBECCA DICKSON + SYMONE
HEYWOOD

CONTENTS
Contents..................................................................................................................... 2
1. Introduction............................................................................................................ 4
2. Background............................................................................................................ 4
3. Lidl Mission Statement........................................................................................... 5

4. Aims...................................................................................................................... 5
5. METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................... 5
5.1 SECONDARY RESEARCH........................................................................................ 5
5.2 EXTERNAL SECONDARY DATA............................................................................... 6
6. Findings.................................................................................................................. 6
7. Situational Analysis................................................................................................ 6
8. The External Audit.................................................................................................. 6
8.1 P.E.S.T.E.L Analysis............................................................................................... 6
8.1.1 Political.............................................................................................................. 6
8.1.2 Economical........................................................................................................ 7
8.1.3 Socio- Cultural................................................................................................... 8
8.1.4 Technological & Environmental.......................................................................... 8
8.1.5 Legal & Ethical................................................................................................... 9
8.2 Micro Environmental Analysis............................................................................. 10
8.2.1 Porters Five Forces.......................................................................................... 10
8.2.2 Competitive Rivalry......................................................................................... 11
8.2.3 Threat of New Entrants.................................................................................... 11
8.2.4 Power of Buyers............................................................................................... 12
8.2.5 Power of Suppliers........................................................................................... 13
8.2.6 Threat of Substitute Products.......................................................................... 13
9. Internal Audit........................................................................................................ 14
9.1 Strategy.............................................................................................................. 15
9.2 Structure............................................................................................................ 16
9.3 Systems.............................................................................................................. 16
9.4 Staf.................................................................................................................... 17
9.5 Skills................................................................................................................... 17
9.6 Style................................................................................................................... 17
10. SWOT Analysis.................................................................................................... 18
10.1 Strengths.......................................................................................................... 18
10.2 Weaknesses...................................................................................................... 19
10.3 Opportunities.................................................................................................... 19
10.4 Threats............................................................................................................. 19
11. Conclusion.......................................................................................................... 20
12. Bibliography....................................................................................................... 21

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

1. INTRODUCTION
This report will outline the Situational Analysis for the Marketing Planning
Process for Lidl. This will analyse all areas of the business including internal
and external sources in order to discover methods that will grow sales. The
start of the report will include; the background to Lidl and its mission
statement.

2. BACKGROUND
The first Lidl stores were opened in 1973. In the 1980s Lidl was a household
name throughout Germany. During the 1990s Lidl started to open stores
outside Germany. Lidl is now well established as a major food retailer
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

throughout Europe. They were able to break into the UK market in 1990s.
The company today is operating in more than 23 countries throughout
Europe. It has made a very fast growth as a discounter retail store and now
Lidl is the 10th leading grocery retailer within the UK market. The company
boasts nearly 500 stores in UK and is planning to open more 1500 stores.
The Companys main target is the families with low income (Mintel). They
present a 1300 to 2000 product line mainly using their own-brand. Currently
Lidl is focusing on selling branded products at cheaper prices rather than
selling their own brand to attract higher income family group. For that
reason, Lidl is making trading relationships with global brand suppliers. Many
of the global brands are ready to supply Lidl at a discounted rate and these
include such suppliers as Procter and Gamble, United Biscuits, Cadbury,
Master foods etc. (The Future of European Food and Drinks Retailing February
2006) (www.businessinsights.com)
Lidls main competitors are Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury, Morrison, Aldi, cooperatives, Iceland etc. According to company account and annual report
Mintel (2008) its market share was 3.6 % in 2004, increased to 3.8 % in 2005
and kept increasing to 4% in 2006, 4.3% in 2007 but decreased to 4.2% in
2008. The main reason for this growth is their physical expansion as Lidls
store outlet is increasing very fast. In an interview with The Grocer, regional
director Martin Bailie said: "We have opened 40 or 50 stores a year for the
last five years and that's the rate at which we will continue. We have a good
pipeline and the openings for the next two or three years are already
secured."(www.Igd.com/news, 27 Oct 2009) According to just-food.com the
company has promoted fresh product range with five-a-day campaign.
According to marketmagazine.co.uk (25th May 2010) Lidl, the discount
supermarket chain, has hired its first UK creative agency as part of a plan to
develop its marketing strategy around major public events.

3. LIDL MISSION STATEMENT

Lidls mission is to keep its unique quality of ofering discounted quality
products and services to its customers and to achieve sustainable growth by
increasing market share.
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

4. AIMS
The main aim of the report is to conduct the companys situational analysis.
This will be completed to analyse the external and internal factors, by using
diferent frameworks.
PESTEL will be applied to analyse the Macro Environment which is the factors
outside of the business that afect the wider society and which cannot be
controlled.
Next, Porters Five Forces will be used to analyse the Micro-Environment.
These are the factors close to the business and are used for understanding
companys strategic position in the supermarket industry. Furthermore, the
report will aim to understand Lidls internal aspects and how they are
performing. A SWOT analysis will be conducted and will aim to understand
the companys strategic capabilities.

5. METHODOLOGY
The following methods will be used in order to gather information for
research.

5.1 SECONDARY RESEARCH

Secondary research is research that is already published, and is the
cheapest form of research because the data already exists for your
acquisition. Secondary research can be split into internal and external
research.
Internal secondary data could include:

Staf training

Average revenue per quarter

5.2 EXTERNAL SECONDARY DATA

This will include information from some of the following sources:

Mintel Ireland

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

Market line

Internet

Articles and journals

6. FINDINGS
The following includes the findings for the secondary research that was conducted.

7. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
According to Farrell, Michael D. Hartline (2008) whether it is corporate level,
business or functional level any kind of planning process starts detailing the
internal and external organisational analysis. In order to understand the
companys current situation, we will analyse the external environment using
the PESTEL framework, & porters five forces will be conducted. The next
step is to research the performance of Lidl internally followed by a SWOT
analysis to understand the companys own strategic capabilities and
opportunities and threats.

8. THE EXTERNAL AUDIT

The external audit is used to examine the macro- environment of Lidl. This
can be conducted by completing a PESTEL analysis.

8.1 P.E.S.T.E.L ANALYSIS

After completing a PESTEL analysis this will be used to help identify the
strengths and weaknesses for a SWOT analysis.

8.1.1 POLITICAL
Lidl has received almost 1 billion in public development funding from the
World Bank over the past decade to help it with its expansion over Europe,
and to help with global poverty. It also has helped create new jobs as well
as opening new markets for local producer & bringing good quality
afordable food to consumers. The rise in local produce in Lidl stores could
be noticed by consumers who would be more likely to buy from them as the
food may be fresher. Perhaps this money could also be used to introduce
new products to ranges.
Although this is good for Lidls expansion, claims have been attacked by
trade unionist & development groups. According to Provost & Kennard
(2015), This idea that an injection of capital to multinationals will lead
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

necessarily to good, sustainable growth has been repeatedly proven false

over the last 20 years.

8.1.2 ECONOMICAL
The new living wage has been introduced by Lidl for all of their staf in UK
including Northern Ireland who had not been included until this month, this
caused a lot of negative attention from solicitors & consumers who saw it as
discrimination and this could be the reason why they decided to include NI.
The national living wage will be 8.20 an hour, or 9.35 an hour for London.
This rise in Living wage may be due to the fact that the government will be
raising the NLW to 7.20 an hour in April 2016. However, this is lower than
a figure of 8.20 which is the rate set by the Independent National Living
Foundation who states this helps workers have a basic standard of living.
(BBC News, 2015)
Lidl have chosen the desired amount for UK workers to be paid which gives
them a competitive advantage over other grocery stores.
Adding to this, when the recession hit in 2008, consumers from middle &
upper class backgrounds started to switch to discount stores to shop. This
economic downturn ultimately made Lidl a more acceptable place to shop
in eyes of consumers and caused significantly higher levels of sales.
According to Thompson (2008), Lidls sales increase was at 12.8%
although below Aldi it is still well ahead of Tesco Asda, Sainsburys &
Morrisons. The majority of societys perceptions of money today are to be
careful with your money and so, still shop in the likes of Aldi & Lidl.

8.1.3 SOCIO- CULTURAL

According to Faul (2015), there was an overall increase in households
which still intend to switch to cheaper grocery brands even when economic
conditions improve up from 37% in 2013 to 45% in 2014.
Lidl has now become a popular place to shop amongst the middle & upper
class, despite the boost to personal income which in turn has increased
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

their overall sales. When the recession occurred in 2008 people where more
inclined to switch to cheaper brands and now it has become socially
acceptable amongst higher earning groups to shop here compared with
only 5 years ago when it was unheard of. Adding to this peoples
perceptions of produce has changed and now prefers alternative cheaper
brands as they are aware that you can get alternative cheaper brands
which taste just as good. E.g. a German tin of beans over the more
expensive British brand Heinz (Faul, 2015).

8.1.4 TECHNOLOGICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL

Technology is constantly developing and the rise in popularity of the
internet is another thing which links with people purchasing smartphones
and tablets. This is also becoming an increasingly popular way for
companies to advertise their new products, services, promotions etc. Lidl
has also become aware of ways to catch consumers attention with the
#LidlSuprises Campaign.
According to Moth (2014) it marks a step change in the companys
marketing strategy, as it had previously relied on door drops and leafleting
to get across its price message. Which are both very much traditional
marketing techniques, the change to using # is linked to the social media
site Twitter which lots of companies use for promotion. The point of the
campaign was to communicate with consumers on a huge level and for
people to talk about how surprising it was that Lidl ofered discount brands
which actually tasted like the expensive popular brands and at afordable
prices and it worked.
Lidl have also installed ground breaking technologies like the Heat Pumps
which transfer energy from the refrigerator systems into the stores heating
system, as

oppose to into the

environment

which

reduces waste by

heat

dramatically.
Furthermore they

also

use

11/1/2015

the
Marketing Audit for Lidl

pumps

to
8

recycle the heat from under the ground in the car parks to heat the store
which in turns saves a lot of money on gas and also looking after the
environment.

(Lidl, 2015)
Other areas related to being environmentally friendly include; Boxing clever
with cardboard: Lidl recycle 40,000 tons of cardboard & plastic every year,
Bags of class: ofering shopping bags to customers at diferent prices
depending on the type of bag to encourage people to reuse. & shedding
light on it: all lights in Lidl offices, warehouses, and staf areas are motion
censored activating lights only when need.
The combination of looking after the environment and saving money means
that they improve their reputation and save money on energy which could
be used to enhance other areas of the 7ps to increase their sales (Lidl,
2015).

8.1.5 LEGAL & ETHICAL

According to Lidl (2015), Lidl UK is committed to safeguarding high legal,
ethical and moral standards. It is equally committed to preventing,
deterring and detecting fraud, bribery and all other corrupt business
practices.
However, Lidl have had some legal issues in the recent past due to what a
lot of consumers and government officials call discrimination and that there
was no moral or legal argument for the reason to not raise the wage for NI
Lidl staf. This was written about and televised around UK and now Lidl have
agreed to include NI in the wage rise (Newsletter, 2015).
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

Adding to this, Lidl was forced to retract its Ethical claims. They had been
accused of false advertising and this legal challenge was supported by a
number of organisations for example; European Centre for constitutional
and Human Rights who provided research which shows workers in
Bangladesh garment factories where not being treated under fair and
acceptable

working

conditions.

Issues

like

being

underpaid,

payroll

deductions & discrimination against female workers. (Labour behind the

Label, 2015)
Negative attention to these issues can cause consumer distrust and would
not help Lidl grow their sales.

8.2 MICRO ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Micro environment factors, are factors close to a business that have a direct
impact on its business operations and success. Before deciding on
corporate strategy a businesses should carry out a full analysis of their
micro environment.

8.2.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES

In 1979 Michael Porter of Harvard business school developed a Michael
Porter Five Forces Model which identifies that any industry is influenced by
these 5 forces. This model explains the connection between potential
competitors, competitors within the industry, suppliers and buyers. The
Porters model helps to define the current strong competitive position of the
company and strength of company position which it aims to be at in the
future.
Lidl is one of the largest discount super market chains in UK and by using
Porters Five Forces we can examine the Micro-Environment of the company.

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

10

(Learnmarketing.co.uk)

8.2.2 COMPETITIVE RIVALRY

The retail industry in UK is highly competitive as there are so many players
involved which usually means very tough competition to the existing
players and any of the new entrant's that come into the market. The degree
of rivalry is medium for Lidl as a discount food retailer although they are
having to compete with the big retailers: Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys. Being
new in market Lidl only have 1 of 10th market share as compared to Tesco
and Asda (Mintel, 2009) each of these stores are continuously working to
diferentiate themselves from the others in order to become the market
leader and capture the largest market share.
The marketers in Lidl and the marketers in these organisations are
launching new strategies in order to beat the competition. Each and every
organisation currently present in the retail industry diferentiates itself from
others by product diferentiation.
The diferent strategies include, lower priced products, diferent ofers and
schemes, attracting promotional activities and most importantly satisfying
the customers in the best and most efficient manner so that they will not
switch to the rivals and become brand loyal to the organisation more of a
market share would be beneficial with helping Lidl grow their sales.
Another point should be made on the significance of online shopping.
Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, and Lidls main competitor in the discount retail
industry, Aldi has also begun launching its online store (which should be
available in 2016). This service ofers customers the convenience of using
their online grocery store which Lidl should be thinking about investing in as
it could assist in increasing their share of the market.

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

11

8.2.3 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS

Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys are the major players in the retail industry in UK
and have a large market share which already gives a tough competition to
the new entrants. In order to enter in the retail industry a huge capital
investment is required, market knowledge and local business knowledge is
required which overall is a difficult job to do and in order to survive as a
new entrant one already has a tough competition with the market leaders
and it is difficult to compete with them who already are market leaders and
has experience and has capture a large market share and trust of the
customers.
According to BBC business 2013, Tesco are still market leaders with a
market share of 28.6%, compared to Lidls 4.6%. Tesco and Sainsburys
have maintained their positions as market leaders, albeit the pendulum
appears to be swinging in the direction of the new entrants. This is made
evident by the fact that Lidl has experienced strong growth in a recordbreaking month that now accounts for 3.4% of the market. Therefore, it is
being made increasingly evident that the dynamics and characteristics of
the market are rapidly changing and developing.
Therefore this is showing that in fact Lidl have medium threat of new
entrants in the market and that according to BBC Business the prominence
of Lidl is becoming ever more apparent and therefore has a chance for
growth.

8.2.4 POWER OF BUYERS

Within the analysis of Lidl the 'buyers' in Porters five forces are the
customers. There are main ways in which the power of buyers is high and
they are under the following conditions: "If the buyers are concentrated and
there are few of them" (Lynch, 2009: 98). Lidl has thousands of customers all
around the UK, this meaning that the power of the customers is not high in
this sense as their target market is large with 2000 supermarkets covering
most of the UK meaning they are easily accessible for a huge range of
customers.
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

12

Customers are the integral part of every business. Customers or the buyers
in retail industry while purchasing goods from diferent supermarket stores
use their buying power decision from which supermarket they should buy
goods from, which provide them with the best services and which gives them
maximum satisfaction.
Another condition which means the power of buyers is high is when "the
product from the organisation is undiferentiated" (Lynch, 2009: 98). This
means that the customers can switch from one supermarket to another as
they all ofer similar products; this is an issue in the supermarket industry as
most customers are not loyal to just one supermarket, but the volume of
customers using Lidl is high so this does not really have a negative impact.
This shows the buyer power is not strong enough to create a problem for Lidl
unless a high percentage of loyal customers decided not to use them again.
All the major supermarkets and Lidl are continuously running advertising
campaigns to attract new customers and to retain their original loyal
customers. Lidl provide their customers with low priced products, good
quality, variety of products, good customer services for which the buyer uses
their power to shop from Lidl in order to satisfy their needs.

8.2.5 POWER OF SUPPLIERS

Every organization should have a fruitful relationship with the suppliers in
order to survive and beat the competition. The retailer should have suppliers
supporting them in order to have the goods on time and can have the
demand and supply cycle working for the consumers. Lidl has numerous
suppliers working for them which allows diferent goods to be supplied. This
then makes it possible to satisfy the customers' demands at the Lidl stores.
The supplier has the power to decide whether to provide the goods to the
retailer or not and they can switch to the rivals if a better price is given to
them.
Depending on the type of supermarkets, the suppliers' bargaining power can
be increased or decreased. For example large supermarkets like Tesco and
Asda are wholesale themselves which reduce the cost of maintaining a
supply chain. On the other hand, Lidl which ofers its own label products
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

13

enjoy the same privilege as the above two in cutting down on suppliers' cost.
(Competition Commission Report 2009)

8.2.6 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS

There are really no threats of substitutes because in the grocery market the
same products are ofered by diferent supermarkets. What diferentiates
one from the other is price, quality, services and the brand. For a single
product there are so many substitutes available in the market. In the other
context we can also look at the increasing competition from the
convenience stores and of license shops which act as a substitute to Lidl. If
a consumer wants to purchase few things instead of going to a Lidl store
they would go to their local convenience store. The prices might not be as
good as Lidl but it is giving a completion to them as these shops can be
very close to customers and are more frequently placed.

9. INTERNAL AUDIT
Now that Lidl has been externally analyzed, its now important to assess the
internal areas to understand their current situation and if there can be any
room for improvement, and also to conduct a full SWOT along with the
external points made.
The internal audit will relate to Lidls key assets and competencies on which
a strategic position can be built to increase growth in sales. The assets and
competencies reflect all of the internal resources and capabilities. There are
a number of areas to will consider, for example; the goals & objectives and
if they are being achieved. Competitive advantage, mission statement
promises, market share (and if its increasing or decreasing) innovation and
motivation levels, staf performance, reputation and so on.

For the internal audit a framework will be applied that is known as Mckinsey
7s which was created in 1980s by Mckinsey consultants. It includes 7 key
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

14

areas to be researched. Its known as a Value Based Management Model

(VBM) that describes how to holistically and efectively organise a company
(Value Based Management, 2015).

(Value Based Management,

2015)

On completion of the model it should show how Lidl operates. To begin with
the 7 areas for consideration are broken down in two main categories.
Systems, structure and strategy are known as the hard values, and skills,
staf and style are the soft values. The three hard values are the
foundations and underlying values of a company which means skills, staf
and style need to come together and align successfully so the firm can
function efectively.

9.1 STRATEGY
The strategy refers to Lidls strategic plan to achieve competitive
advantage & successfully compete in the market. It needs long term
advantage and to be reinforced by their mission statement.
According to Felsted, (2014) Its forecasted that Lidl will overtake Aldi by
2018 as leading discount supermarket. Lidl is currently present in 26 EU
markets.
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

15

One of the senior executive at a leading supplier of both Aldi & Lidl say that
initially Aldi & Lidl drive hard bargains in negotiation however; they are 510% cheaper than traditional grocers. This suggests that they have
competitive advantage on choosing suppliers as they ofer better prices to
suppliers. Adding to this the range of products that Lidl ask suppliers to
provide is narrower for example; four to six products compared with thirtyforty at a larger grocer.
Another strategic advantage they have is that as they are an international
group they have better access to high quality products such a parmesan,
feta cheese, pasta & rice, tinned tomatoes & wines. However they source
fresh

meat

and

vegetables

locally

which

express

Lidls

quality

competitiveness, all of this creates extremely efficient operations (Felsted,

2014).

9.2 STRUCTURE
The structure represents business divides and units organised & include the
information of who is accountable, it may also include the organisational
chart of the firm (Jurevicius, 2013).
Lidls managing director is currently Ronny Gottschlich, he is the 3 rd
managing director for Lidl in 2 years.
According to Lidl UK, (2015) the culture of management is enhanced by
agreeing targets together with employees, defining each employees duties,
having confidence in employees and trusting that they will complete tasks to
the best of their ability and providing feedback, support and motivation
11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

16

The delivery structure for Lidl allows the guarantee of best possible freshness
of products as they are sourced locally.

9.3 SYSTEMS
These are the processes and procedures of the company, which reveal
business daily activities & how decisions are made. It should be the main
focus for managers during organisational change. Within Lidl when decisions
are made based on recruitment they use a concept known as The four Eye
Principle to base their decisions on employment. This concept is defined as a
certain activity that must be approved by at least two people, its used to
facilitate delegation.
Lidls website reveals a lot of information on the daily activities of the
business for example; Introducing new cooking classes page, weekly deals,
leaflets, bakery information, production information reviews and rewards,
recipes, customer service, stores, about us & a career section.
Lastly, in 2009 Lidl, introduced a document management system that
digitized more than 200,000 documents (Perry, 2015). This shows that Lidl
are keeping up with modern technological developments so that they can
perform more efficiently.

9.4 STAFF
This element is concerned with the types of staf, their performance, and
employee turnover, how they are trained, motivated & rewarded. Lidl, (2015)
state that they train every employee comprehensively to prepare them for
the role, they provide regular feedback, provide a work-life balance for all
employees and they are open to employees idea and agree on targets
together.
The

discount

scheme

means

stafs

are

entitled

to

10%

of

all

products/services in store. However, statistics and research has shown that

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

17

the staf turnover ratio is very high across the UK. Researching further there
seems to be a number of factors for this for example;

Long hours

Expected to work more than contracted

Time focused activities add pressure. E.g. unloading pallets in 20minutes

And in contrast to what Lidl have wrote high demand in work load makes
it hard to obtain a work life balance.

No kind of premium for working bank holidays (Glassdoor, 2015).

9.5 SKILLS
When the skills of a business are discussed it refers to the capabilities and
competences of the employees and if they are performing well enough
(Jurevicius, 2013). Lidl have introduced time measured activities to speed up
the processes in store which in turn would help to influence staf to work
harder and perform more skillfully. Adding to this, stafs are trained in all
areas of store operations which enhances their skills in all areas of the store.

9.6 STYLE
The key issues for consideration for style in a business are defining a long
term vision for transformation. In order to appeal to customers it is important
that Lidl adapts to changing customer trends and makes their environments
attractive places to shop.
Just recently Lidl has announced it will tone down on the yellow and blue
colour theme throughout the store and wants to give it a more subtle vibe.
The new stores will be sporting this new design will mean the tills are not
painted yellow and blue and the outside exterior is glossier.
In terms of layout instead of entering to see own brand chocolates and
biscuits, fruit and veg will be the first point of contact which seems very
similar to the larger grocery stores. Also the aisles have been widened;
ceiling height doubled to makes it more spacious and airy.

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

18

(Mills,
2015)

10. SWOT ANALYSIS

Now, its essential to address the SWOT to understand what Lidls
capabilities and competencies are and to what extent they are used to help
them make informed decisions to grow sales.

10.1 STRENGTHS

Lidl ofer customers good quality products at discount prices, sourcing

their fruit and vegetables locally and as they are an international
group, have the sources to obtain high quality cheeses, wines, pasta,
rice etc. which when sold in the UK, are seen as value for money.

They have competitive advantage in many areas; suppliers by

ofering competitive prices 5-10% cheaper than larger stores, And
also by narrowing the amounts of products needed by suppliers

There website is very detailed and ofers a lot for customers if they
need any help with products, contact details, cooking, and deals.

The social perception of Lidl changing rapidly ever since the

reception and it is now socially acceptable to shop here.

10.2 WEAKNESSES

They havent entered the online shopping market which since the
development in the digital world is an area that creates a lot of sales
for other stores like Tesco & Sainsburys also their rival Aldi is opening
a store next year which shall increase competition.

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

19

Staf turnover levels are very high as a main disadvantage to them is

finding the work life balance.

Media attention has focused a lot on Lidls negative ethical

background which can have a direct impact on customers shopping
with Lidl.

10.3 OPPORTUNITIES

Growth within UK market as the Big Four supermarkets sales falling.

Lidl have the opportunity to launch a new campaign and use this to
their advantage.

Lidl is growing very fast in UK market so it has the opportunity to open

stores in all over UK.

Lidl also have the opportunity of product development by introducing

new product lines in order to diferentiate from other stores.

Ofering online shopping to compete with the other Big Four stores.
This could increase sales massively for Lidl.

10.4 THREATS

Only have a small market share.

All stores are competing with each other and trying to diferentiate.

No product diferentiation as all stores ofer the same products but at

diferent prices.

Intense competition from well-established and strong brands like Tesco

and Asda who actively response to Lidl strategies

11. CONCLUSION
With Lidl being the markets leading discount retailer, it is growing very fast
especially in UK. Even the big retail giants like Tesco and Asda has noticed
its progress and adopt price cut strategies to compete. In gathering these
results of the situation analysis it will allow for a marketing plan to be
constructed that will help Lidl in the future increase their sales.

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

20

12. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, R. (2013). Tesco turns stale as competitors freshen up ideas - BBC News.
[online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29310445
[Accessed 18 Nov. 2015].
Anon., 2015. Fraud & Bribary Prevention policy. [Online]
Available at: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/1936.htm
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
Anon., 2015. Summary of the 7s Framework McKinsey Abstract. [Online]
Available at: http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_7s.html
[Accessed 10 Novemeber 2015].
Anon., 2015. What is the Four Eyes Principle. [Online]
Available at: http://www.unido.org/en/overview/for-member-states/change/faq/what11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

21

is-the-four-eyes-principle.html
[Accessed 14 Novemeber 2015].
BBCNEWS, 2015. Lidl reverse living wage decsion for Northern Ireland Staff.
[Online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-34471260
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
Faul, J, 2015. The Drum. [Online]
Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/02/03/consumers-will-continueswitch-lidl-and-aldi-despite-boost-personal-finances-finds
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
Felsted, A., 2014. Aldi and Lidl lead charge of discount supermarket. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cbdf0bfa-fd61-11e3-bc9300144feab7de.html#axzz3r7SXZNSB
[Accessed 10 novemeber 2015].
Glassdoor, 2015. Lidl Reviews. [Online]
Available at: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews/Lidl-Reviews-E7428.htm
[Accessed 21 October 2015].
Green, R. (2009). Competition Commission annual report and accounts 2009 Publications - GOV.UK. [online]
Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/competition-commissionannual-report-and-accounts-2009 [Accessed 15 Nov. 2015].
Jurevicius, O., 2013. Mckinseys 7 Model. [Online]
Available at: http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/mckinsey-7s-modelframework.html
[Accessed 10 Novemeber 2015].
Lidl, 2015. Our latest developments. [Online]
Available at: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/901.htm
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
Lidl, 2015. Our Managment Culture. [Online]
Available at: http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/1919.htm
[Accessed 14 Novemeber 2015].
Lynch, R. (2009). Strategic management. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Mills, J., 2015. Lidl is going up-market with a Waitrose-style revamp. [Online]
Available at: http://metro.co.uk/2015/11/12/lidl-is-going-upmarket-with-a-waitrosestyle-revamp-5495815/
[Accessed 14 Novemeber 2015].
Mintel, 2009. Retailer brands and the impact on innovativeness in the grocery
market: Journal of Marketing Management, 25(1-2), pp.75-95.
Moth, D., 2014. Four reasons to admire the #Lidlsurprises campagin. [Online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/65423-four-reasons-to-admire-thelidlsurprises-campaign/
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
News, L., 2015. News: Lidl forced to retract 'Ethical claims'. [Online]
Available at: http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/news/item/821-lidl-legal-action
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
11/1/2015
Marketing Audit for Lidl
22

Newsletter, 2015. Lidl could face legal action over NI wage discrimination. [Online]
Available at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/ni-business-news/lidl-could-facelegal-action-over-ni-wage-discrimination-1-6976133
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
Perry, J., 2009. Lidl invests in document managment system]. [Online]
Available at: http://www.retail-week.com/technology/lidl-invests-in-documentmanagement-system/5003191.article
[Accessed 10 Novemeber 2015].
http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/mckinsey-7s-modelframework.html
Provost, C Kennard, M, 2015. The Guardian. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/02/lidl-1bn-publicdevelopment-funding-supermarket-world-bank-eastern-europe
[Accessed 17 October 2015].
Roy, D. (2009). Strategic foresight and Porter's five forces. Munchen: GRIN.
Thompson, J., 2008. Independent. [Online]
Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/lidl-and-aldi-seesales-soar-amid-economic-downturn-853614.html
[Accessed 17 October 2015].

11/1/2015

Marketing Audit for Lidl

23