Lidl best on prize
Lidl wins the newspaper B.T.'s large price check of supermarkets, the chain says in a press release. B.T. has checked the prices of everything from pasta to chocolate biscuits and milk - a total of 97 different products, divided into five product categories, have been tested in 11 grocery chains, and here Lidl was the cheapest in all five categories.
In June, Lidl was named the best for the price when it comes to organic grocery products by Forbrugerådet Tænk[*], as well as winning Forbrugerrådet Tænk’s price check of organic fruits and vegetables earlier this year.
Also, in the newspaper Ekstra Bladet's big price check in September, Lidl ran with the title of Denmark's cheapest grocery chain, where 30 different products were compared.
In B.T.'s price check, the price of the total purchase in Lidl ends at DKK 1016.19 with a total of DKK 1038.69 and DKK 1056.15 for the nearest competitors – or a difference of only 2%. In other words, one can conclude that the price difference is minimal.
It's a bit like in Norway - the distance between the low-price chains in the most cited price comparison – VG’s matbørs, testing prices across 89 products now in September, is so small (less than 1% between number one and number 2) that it doesn't matter where you shop – financially speaking.
The result pleases Lidl
“B.T.'s big price check corresponds to the Danish Championships on the price of grocery chains, where a large selection of the Danes' preferred shopping products has been reviewed, so this is just another proof that Lidl is just the cheapest,” says CEO in Lidl Denmark, Dirk Fust.
He guarantees that even though the prices are low at Lidl, the quality is always top notch.
“We work well with quality-conscious Danish suppliers, and we have extensive quality control from field to store. At the same time, we have a fantastic network of cross-border local buyers, who work hard every day to offer the best quality at the best price to our customers,” says Fust.
Initially, one would think that Lidl should have been even cheaper. Schwarz Group (Lidl and Kaufland) is number one in Europe, measured in retail sales, Aldi number 3 and Danish Salling and Norwegian Rema far behind.
Lidl could undoubtedly have chosen even lower prices in Denmark but relates to the competition and choose to be only marginally lower in price. This is probably a profitable and sensible business strategy.
The fact that Rema 1000 manages so well in competition with German giants is perhaps the most extraordinary in B.T.’s price comparison.
B.T.'s price check
B.T.'s price check is based on purchases of 97 different items in 11 Danish grocery chains on 23 September 2019.
| Test results | |
|---|---|
| No. 1 | Lidl: DKK 1016.19 |
| No. 2 | Rema 1000: DKK 1038.69 |
| No. 3 | Aldi: DKK 1056.15 |
The price check has run in BT in week 40.
Sources: Lidl Denmark, Aldi Denmark, BT, Ekstra Bladet, Forbrugerrådet Tænk, Rema 1000 Denmark, RetailNews.
VG's "Matbørs" for Norway
| Test results | |
|---|---|
| No. 1 | Coop Extra: NOK 3.259,30 |
| No. 2 | Kiwi: NOK 3.315,30 |
| No. 3 | Rema: NOK 3.326,30 |
The test was run 30 September.
[*]Forbrugerrådet Tænk is a private and independent member organization. It has about 82,000 personal members and 28 member organizations and consumer groups. Forbrukerrådet Tænk runs independent price tests on several goods and stores.
[2] The price table in Denmark and Norway cannot be compared, but both help illustrate the main points of the article; that the price differences in the low-price chains in both Denmark and Norway are quite marginal. The same pattern is similar to what we see in many other markets as well: The price difference between discount chains in national markets is marginal, but the distance to the supermarkets can be relatively significant.