Lidl enjoyed its most successful Christmas trading period on record, the supermarket chain said, boosted by a third rise in festive food sales.
Revenues rose by almost 7% to more than £1 billion in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, with customers buying 16 million pigs in blankets and a turkey every second.
Sales have also been supported by an increase in the number of stores this year, although there are signs that growth could slow.
At the same time, the chain has joined many of its competitors in saying tax increases announced in the budget could lead to job losses and higher prices for customers.
The supermarket chain’s Christmas sales figures were buoyed by the highest ever customer numbers for the period, with two million more shopping in a bid to match rivals’ market share.
The company said it recorded the highest growth in customer visits of any supermarket last year.
Customers apparently also opted for the German discount chain as they looked to save money on alcoholic drinks, with sales of champagne increasing by a quarter.
Its boss in the UK, Ryan McDonnell, said he was “delighted” by the growing number of buyers.
Despite this, the 7% sales growth rate seen during the key Christmas 2024 period marks a decline from the 12% achieved the previous year.
Lidl also increased its total number of UK supermarkets to more than 970 last year, meaning the sales figures are not a ‘like for like’ comparison.
In December, however, industry analysts at Kantar reported that Lidl was the fastest-growing physical grocer in the latest quarter, as it closes in on Morrisons’ position as the fifth-largest supermarket group of the United Kingdom.
Looking ahead, Mr McDonnell said the company was “excited to continue” this momentum.
He previously told the BBC that while tax rises and changes to labor rights would put “a lot of pressure on businesses in one fell swoop”, these factors would not deter the retailer from investing in the UK. United.
A Treasury spokesperson said in response to a November open letter – signed by Lidl, Tesco, Amazon, Greggs, Next and dozens of other chains – that it had to “make difficult choices to repair the foundations of the country “. The GMB union said retailers were “pleading poverty”.
