Lidl GB’s chief executive Ryan McDonnell has said its property team is in “close contact” with Wilko’s administrator as it looks to acquire some of the hardware store company’s former sites.
McDonnell told Retail Week that the discounter was being “very, very active” in moving ahead with its new store acquisition programme.
Although he explained that nothing had been completed with administrators at PwC, Lidl was “certainly always interested in looking at properties where they meet our requirements”.
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This comes as Lidl updated its list of priority locations for new stores in April, as it looks to reach over 1,100 sites across the UK by the end of 2025.
Last year, the discount grocer opened over 50 stores and welcomed an additional 15 new sites within the first three months of 2023.
Rival discounter Aldi has also recently unveiled a long-term goal of opening 1,500 UK stores as part of a £1.3bn two-year investment plan to meet growing consumer demand.
As Wilko plunged into administration last month, Aldi began calling for staff affected by the collapse to apply for job vacancies, with more than 6,000 jobs currently available across its UK stores.
Last week, Aldi boss Giles Hurley said the retailer may hire workers from Wilko and take over its stores as part of its own expansion drive.
