German supermarket chain Lidl has opened its first ‘outlet’ store in the Czechia, located in Prague’s Štěrboholy Retail Park.
Lidl’s ‘outlet’ format offers non-food products at huge discounts.
The 1,700 square metre store offers savings of 40% to 70% on clothing, tools, gardening equipment, and household items.
Open daily, this new outlet will regularly receive fresh stock, allowing customers to consistently find discounted products. Customers will also have at their disposal amenities like on-site refreshments.
The popularity of the discount store exceeded even Lidl’s expectations, with huge crowds and long queues forming from the very beginning, according to a report in the local daily Blesk.
Shoppers waited for hours, even causing traffic jams as they lined up to enter the parking lot. Thousands visited the store in the first few days, but the initial excitement has started to wane, according to local media reports.
Lidl spokesperson, Eliška Froschová Stehlíková, told Blesk that Czech shoppers have shown the greatest interest in appliances and tools.
Lidl Outlet Stores
She added that Lidl plans to expand the outlet concept to other locations across the Czechia, should the store in Prague prove successful.
The concept is inspired by successful Lidl outlet format in Hungary, Portugal, and Spain. The outlet stores provide customers with access to products that might not be available through regular channels and also help Lidl manage its inventory better.
Lidl, along with its sister company Kaufland (both part of the Schwarz Group), has seen significant success in Czechia, where it is among the market leaders, operating a network of over 320 stores and an e-shop.
In the 2023/2024 financial year, the company reported sales of CZK 88.6 billion (€3.5 billion) and a net profit of CZK 1.9 billion (€75.7 million).