Lidl invests €180 million in 2020

The German supermarket chain ended 2020 with a €180 million investment in its 261 stores in Portugal.

With urban rehabilitation an integral part of its expansion and modernisation plan, the company opened its 261st shop last year in Rio Tinto which was built from scratch and included a roundabout to improve traffic access to and from the store.
Lidl has also reopened stores in Chaves, Vila Nova de Santo André and Castelo Branco, including recharging posts which will enable electric cars to be 80% recharged in just 30 minutes.
Given the current context caused by Covid-19, and complying with the recommendations given by the Government, the new shops have taken a number of measures that reinforce the safety of all customers and staff, reducing the risk of contagion.
Supermarkets are in general expecting a good year in 2021, despite concerns over the overall economy. This is partly because during lockdown periods, they and chemists are the only retail outlets licensed to be open to the public.
In the case of Pingo Doce, forecasts point to “a year of huge uncertainty in consumer behaviour” with everything “dependent on how the pandemic develops,” says an official source from the food distribution chain Jerónimo Martins which has decided to buy more national foodstuffs produce and products which has been affected by the contraction of the economy and food exports caused by the pandemic (lamb, veal, regional cheeses, wines, fruit, non-famed fish and sausages).
Lidl too says it is stepping up its help to local farmers by purchasing more national produce, a practice which the supermarket chain has been doing in general over the past few years.
The company has been selling Portuguese products in its stores in other European countries and in 2020 exported 20% more fruit and vegetables than in 2019, including exporting the equivalent of 21 lorry loads of Algarve oranges to Germany.