Lidl has acquired a new site in Belvedere, Greater London, and thus has set in motion its warehouse extension plans.

10,890 square feet site

The Belvedere site is 10,890 square feet big. It is due to operate beside Lidl’s current distribution centre which is 312,153 square feet big and employs 332 people that work across a variety of different functions, including logistics, supply chain, property and administration.

The retailer will be able to double its capacity thanks to the new acquisition. Ingo Fisher, Lidl’s chief development officer said: "In addition to opening new warehouses, we have a development programme in place to strengthen our existing operations. This will ensure that we are able to provide continued support to our current store network, whilst putting the infrastructure in place for future growth." He adds: "In the last year we have opened our new distribution centres in Avonmouth and Doncaster, and are at the final stages of construction on our new distribution centre for Scotland.”

The new site is the latest of 13 distribution centres that Lidl operates across Great Britain.

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Lidl to introduce parcel machines in Finland that will allow customers to pick up deliveries from various carriers.

4 cities initially included in the scheme

Lidl plans to introduce the parcel machines initially in stores located at Rautatienkatu, Tampere and Espoonlahti, Espoo. The lockers are supplied by Finnish company Smartmile.

The German retailer intends to introduce the lockers eventually at other stores including in Tukkutori, Helsinki during the early summer. Various carriers such as DHL, Postnord, DB Schenker and Matkahuolto will be able to deliver to the new lockers.

“We have good experience with parcel machines in our stores and our customers have been satisfied with the increased service offering. Of course, we want to make our customers’ lives easier and listen to their wishes,” said Lidl operational director Nicholas Pennanen.

What are others doing?

PostNord and PostNL have recently expanded pilots of parcel lockers. In fact, PostNL has put in place an additional six parcel and letter machines in Tilburg, Netherlands, bringing up the total to 20.

Meanwhile, Amazon has already introduced thousands of automated lockers at the premises of various partners such as Morrisons, Co-op, Casino or Shell petrol stations.

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Lidl US teams up with Boxed.com, a wholesale-style online retailer, to trial a home delivery service using the online retailer’s platform.

Pilot taking place initially in two stores

Lidl plans to trial initially the new home delivery service in two stores: Staten Island, New-York and Powder Springs, Georgia. The pilot kicks off next month, lasting six months. Lidl aims to take advantage of Boxed’s online technology, delivery service and its expertise in handling fresh foods. Essentially, customers that live around each store will be able to browse Lidl’s full assortment on Boxed.com and select a two-hour window upon checkout before receiving their groceries in as little as three hours.

Expanding its online offering

Lidl already offers online delivery through Shipt from most of its 68 US stores. However, the new partnership with Boxed.com signals a new phase of development for Lidl as it aims to expand in relatively new markets (New York and Georgia). The move comes in conjunction with Lidl’s acquisition of the Best Market chain in the New York region last year.

Potential to license its technology

Boxed express, Boxed.com fresh foods delivery service, will handle fulfilment. Partnering with new retailers can help it maximise its asset capacity and generate a new revenue stream by potentially licensing its in-house technology to retailers.

Online grocery delivery is increasingly becoming a popular service. In fact, Amazon has been increasing the number of Whole Foods stores that offer online delivery. In addition, Walmart, Kroger and Stop and Shop have been even trialing grocery deliveries using autonomous vehicles.

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