German supermarket chain Lidl has opened its first 'outlet' store in Czechia, located in Prague’s Štěrboholy Retail Park.
Lidl's 'outlet' format offers non-food products at huge discounts. The discounter operates the format in Hungary, Portugal, and Spain.
The stores provide customers with access to products that might not be available through regular channels and also help Lidl manage its inventory better.
Lidl Outlet
The 1,700-square-metre store in Prague 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 such as 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.
Expansion Plans
She added that Lidl plans to expand the outlet concept to other locations across Czechia, should the store in Prague prove successful.
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).
