{"id":185213,"date":"2025-06-15T02:07:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T02:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/185213\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T02:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T02:07:11","slug":"lidl-northern-ireland-celebrates-25-years-with-new-flagship-cookstown-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/185213\/","title":{"rendered":"Lidl Northern Ireland celebrates 25 years with new flagship Cookstown store"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/7986bd_48de6d030ac5472c988229d51f159675~mv2.jpg\" alt=\"Design drawing of the new Lidl store in Cookstown\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%;max-width:100%\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/www.loveballymena.online\/post\/lidl-northern-ireland-celebrates-25-years-with-new-flagship-cookstown-store\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/static.wixstatic.com\/media\/7986bd_48de6d030ac5472c988229d51f159675~mv2.jpg\/v1\/fill\/w_3000,h_2200,al_c,q_90\/7986bd_48de6d030ac5472c988229d51f159675~mv2.jpg\" draggable=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato p65Ia tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-j6zk54\">Design drawing of the new Lidl store in Cookstown<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-361pt6\">Lidl Northern Ireland is set to celebrate a major milestone in its 25-year history with the grand opening of a brand-new, state-of-the-art concept store in Cookstown on <strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Thursday 26th June<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-mzlpc1207\">The new store marks a significant \u00a38 million investment and replaces Lidl\u2019s original Cookstown outlet, which was the first Lidl store to open in Northern Ireland back in 1999.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-3kue99\">Located on <strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Orritor Road<\/strong>, the 2,475-square-metre store reinforces Lidl\u2019s continued commitment to the Mid Ulster town where its Northern Ireland journey began. <\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-kzu111246\">The development, which relocates operations from the current site at Station Square Retail Park, is the second new Lidl opening in Northern Ireland this June, following the launch of a sustainability-focused store in Newcastle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-chces12\">The Cookstown opening will be marked by a celebratory event featuring former <strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Northern Ireland football captain and Cookstown native Aaron Hughes<\/strong>, who will officially cut the ribbon and welcome customers through the doors.<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Significant local investment and job creation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-1efb520\">Lidl\u2019s investment in the new store goes beyond bricks and mortar, adding 15 new jobs to the existing team and bringing total employment at the Cookstown site to 40 staff members. The wider project supported more than 150 jobs during the planning and construction phases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-2u89j23\">Commenting on the upcoming opening, <strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Gordon Cruikshanks, Regional Managing Director for Lidl Northern Ireland<\/strong>, said:<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-4mznq26\">\u201cThis is a truly special moment for Lidl Northern Ireland as we open our new Cookstown store next to where our very first Northern Ireland store began trading over 25 years ago. <\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-hqk5r1641\">\u201cSince establishing Lidl here in 1999, we have grown to become a trusted retailer in communities across the region, and it\u2019s fitting that we\u2019re investing in this significant new store for the Cookstown community, where our journey began.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-jrrm229\">\u201cWhat started as a single store has now expanded to 43 locations across Northern Ireland, serving 500,000 customers weekly and working with more than 60 local suppliers. This growth demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the region and our promise to continue delivering high-quality products at market-leading prices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-blh2a32\">\u201cThe new Cookstown store represents not just our history but Lidl\u2019s vision for our presence in Northern Ireland \u2013 a modern, sustainable shopping experience that meets the needs of today\u2019s consumers while honouring our longstanding relationship with the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Sustainability at the heart<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-hx1wb40\">As part of Lidl Northern Ireland\u2019s sustainability strategy, the new Cookstown store features a range of environmentally conscious innovations. These include energy-efficient LED lighting, heat pump technology, and solar PV panels to reduce carbon emissions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-2zxuf2216\">These efforts align with Lidl\u2019s corporate ambition to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-s1nn343\">Customers will also benefit from enhanced amenities, including 110 car parking spaces and two electric vehicle (EV) charging points, ensuring an improved and eco-friendly shopping experience.<\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-weight:700\">Looking ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-yy85z51\">The new Cookstown store embodies Lidl Northern Ireland\u2019s transformation from a single-store operation in 1999 to a major regional player today. <\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-s0kh22503\">With over four decades of retailing success in Europe and a quarter-century of service in Northern Ireland, Lidl\u2019s investment in Cookstown underscores its confidence in the region\u2019s continued growth and its loyalty to the communities that supported it from the start.<\/p>\n<p class=\"aMozl Ntato OL17I tTvP1\" dir=\"auto\" id=\"viewer-9113u54\">As Lidl prepares to welcome thousands of shoppers to the new location, this landmark store is set to become both a hub for the local community and a shining example of the retailer\u2019s sustainable future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Design drawing of the new Lidl store in Cookstown Lidl Northern Ireland is set to celebrate a major&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[9658,9660,9661,9656,9659,1144,9657,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-185213","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-ballymena-news","9":"tag-causeway-coast-and-glens","10":"tag-county-antrim","11":"tag-love-ballymena","12":"tag-mid-and-east-antrim","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-northern-ireland-news","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114684942374282334","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}