Competition inside the Irish grocery trade is set to become even more intense following the disclosure by German discounter Lidl that it is searching for sites for more than 60 extra retailers on each sides of the Border.

The planned expansion is thought to be the biggest by any of the principal grocery multiples and coincides with indicators of a continuing recovery in customer spending inside the Republic.
Lidl is currently among the largest retailers in Ireland with 143 retailers as well as a additional 38 in Northern Ireland. The other German discount chain Aldi has 115 retailers in the Republic but doesn't trade in Northern Ireland.
Lidl has appointed CBRE’s Dublin and Belfast offices to locate crucial websites in cities and towns to facilitate the expansion. Right after opening its first shop here in 2000, it expanded swiftly and "experienced unparalleled development throughout their lifetime in Ireland," in accordance with the business.
As a part of the continued expansion strategy it says it is "looking to open additional 60-plus retailers on high profile web sites with good visibility and accessibility."
Freehold properties
The best site will probably be two acres in size although smaller sized plots of around 1 acre will be considered in high density urban places. There's also a preference for freehold properties to accommodate stores ranging in size from 1,800 sq m to 2,400 sq m (19, 375 sq ft/25,833 sq ft).
Florence Stanley, head of retail at CBRE Dublin, said that as well as mounting a countrywide look for appropriate sites, they would be contacting neighborhood estate agents to locate the very best enterprise areas.
"It may well take a while to fulfil our commitment but if we manage to line up 60 websites inside 3 years our client would almost certainly be satisfied."
While the majority of the current Lidl properties have substantial parking facilities, the organization has also been
capable to avail of smaller sized, well-located web sites by placing the shops on stilts and using the space underneath the building for parking.
A single such retailer is located on the 1.14-acre former Sunday Globe site in Terenure which not too long ago opened for enterprise.
That site was bought by a residential development company during the house boom for €18.three million and was acquired following the crash by Lidl for greater than €4 million.
Not excellent news
Tara Buckley, director basic of the Retail Grocery Dairy and Allied Trades Association, mentioned 60 discount supermarkets was not great news for Irish towns and villages.
A report by economist Jim Energy had shown that a euro spent inside a locally owned shop was worth three occasions greater than 1 spent within a British or German chain. In the end from the day their income go back to Germany or the UK.
Lidl’s share in the discount market within the North has risen significantly over the years though surprisingly the business has not been challenged in that market by Aldi. That business recently confirmed that its planned £600 million expansion in the UK - it really is to open another 550 outlets - will not consist of Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, Tesco continues to be mulling more than the long delayed megastore planned for Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in west Dublin. It has denied it's to be abandoned just like 49 other
lidle supermarket projects in the UK.
Planning permission for the shop was granted by An Bord Plean?la in June 2016 and, in accordance with an official spokesperson, the company is "working via planning compliance with the nearby authority and as such a commencement date for the improvement has not however been finalised".