Lidl gradually changes its concept to better meet requirements of Finnish customers

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The German discount grocery chain Lidl has been forced to make amendments to its Central European concept in order to better meet the Finnish customers’ requirements.
     
In addition to increasing its range of products, Lidl has started replacing its present check-out counters by new ones with more space for packing. The old counters have a long conveyor belt, but minimal space reserved for the packing of purchases.
      Lidl’s space-saving cash-out counter was based on a Central European efficiency model with a faster handling time compared with the traditional Finnish counters.
      The purchased items were supposed to be placed back in the trolley in order to be moved to another place and packed later on. The speed of the belts and the short counter meant that some older customers complained of having trouble packing their shopping.
     
A lot of customer feedback regarding the check-out counters in particular has been received, reports Peter Ahlström, the acting Managing Director of Lidl Finland. Ahlström is substituting for Managing Director Antti Tiitola, who is on sabbatical leave and will be back at the beginning of the autumn.
     
Currently Lidl has 124 outlets in Finland, while 35 of them already have new check-out counters, according to Ahlström.
      The goal is to have a network of some 150 Lidl stores in the country.
      ”These improvements will cost us a lot, but we try to listen to our customers. Otherwise they might vote with their feet”, notes Ahlström.
     
At the beginning, the Lidl stores in Finland did not have any shopping baskets, either, but gradually they have been introduced into all shops.
      In addition to perishable goods, even other Finnish alternatives have been added to the product range, including beer, coffee brands, cold cuts, sausages, meat, as well as periodicals and tabloids.
     
”Finns are used to the same products, while we would like to introduce also alternative items. Otherwise we would be just one retailer among many others”, Ahlström concludes.
      The opening of the first Lidl outlet in Finland took place in 2002.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Arrival of Lidl in Finland leads to sharp cuts in retail prices of food (14.12.2004)

Links:
  Lidl (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat