The 17% growth in 2017 means one billion lei added to the revenue of retailer in one year.
Lidl stores, whose business model relies heavily on discounts and private label products, have doubled sales in five years, on the back of expansion and organic growth.
Lidl is the third largest modern retail chain in Romania by revenue, behind Kaufland (RON10 billion in 2017), and Carrefour, which posted RON6.74 billion for a single fiscal entity last year. The French-held network has double as many employees as the German-held discount store chain.
Lidl had 4,815 employees on average last year, 600 more than in 2016.
Grocery retail is the sector with most companies with over EUR1 billion in revenue in Romania’s economy. Kaufland, Carrefour Romania, Lidl Discount, Auchan, Mega Image and Profi all overshot this mark in 2017. (EUR1=RON4.6485)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)