Fruits and vegetables: the driving force behind Lidl's growth

Carlos Gonzalez-Villardell, the commercial director of Lidl Spain ( ), presented the Schwarz Group’s operations, which are divided into four main subsidiaries: Schwarz Distribution, which operates Lidl and Kaufland stores; Schwarz Production, which has its own factories producing various food products (nuts, ice cream, frozen foods, and ready-to-eat meals); Schwarz Digits (future-oriented solutions in e-commerce and logistics), and PreZero, dedicated to recycling, which was established following the acquisition of the Ferrovial Group in Spain.

Europe’s leading retailer

Carlos Gonzalez-Villardell highlighted Lidl’s global standing: today the world’s fourth-largest retailer. It is also Europe’s leading food retailer with over 8% market share and the fastest-growing, with an annual growth rate of 3%. It operates in 31 countries, with an upcoming expansion into Serbia. It operates 230 logistics hubs and 12,600 stores, with approximately 382,000 employees and €132.1 billion in revenue. Lidl in Spain is already positioned as the third-largest retailer, with about 14 logistics centers and more than 700 stores. It generated revenue of 6.952 billion euros and employs approximately 19,700 workers.

Global and national sourcing, depending on the category

Hannes Langhorst, the group’s head of fruit and vegetable purchasing, explains the global strategy for his fruit and vegetable division. Suppliers managed in each country typically supply multiple markets to maximize economies of scale and negotiate global purchase volumes. “Of the 160 fruit and vegetable SKUs we sell on average per store, most of them can be replicated in the 31 countries where Lidl operates,” explains Hannes. By way of example, Hannes reveals that the group currently purchases more than 5 million tons of bananas and 700 million cucumbers. The Lidl group distributes a total of approximately 1.2 billion boxes of fruits and vegetables. This involves some 600,000 trucks and 130,000 producers supplying the group.

For more information about the Lidl Group and its purchasing strategy, click here.