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Dear Customer,

With 2021 now well under way, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for continuing to shop with Lidl. More customers than ever chose to shop with us this Christmas and took advantage of incentives through our Lidl Plus app, meaning more of you were able to enjoy our quality products over the festive period, however you chose to spend it.

These remain, however, challenging times for everyone and I wanted to update you on our priorities for the months ahead and how we will support you, our colleagues, and the communities which we’re proud to serve.

At Lidl GB, safety remains our number one priority and we have taken additional measures across the vast majority of our stores to ensure you and our colleagues remain safe. This includes positioning security guards at store entrances to regulate customer numbers and to remind those not wearing a face covering, and who are not exempt, of their responsibility to keep themselves and others safe. Additionally, I would also ask that if you are able to do so, please do try to shop alone. This will reduce the number of people in store and help maintain social distancing. By working together, we can ensure everyone is protected and can shop in a safe environment. You can find out more about how we are working to keep everyone safe in our stores here.

The past 12 months has been a year like no other we have experienced. No one could never have imagined the challenges which lay ahead and our colleagues continue to do a phenomenal job in such difficult circumstances. And their work has been recognised. In November of this year, and for the sixth year running, we announced an £8m investment to ensure that all colleagues on an hourly rate are paid fairly, by matching the levels recommended by the Real Living Wage Foundation. However, this is simply not enough to reflect our team’s contribution this year. As an additional token of our appreciation, we will also be awarding all frontline colleagues an extra £200 one-off thank you payment. I hope you will join me in showing your appreciation for all our employees for their hard work and dedication. If you would like to read more about how we’re recognising our colleagues, you can here.

The tireless efforts and focus of all our teams across the business on delivering customer satisfaction have not only ensured that people are protected and shelves remained fully stocked, they’ve also helped us to be rated as the country’s cheapest supermarket in 2020 by consumer group Which?. It is an honour for us as we understand that for many people the past year has led to the tightening of household budgets. I want to assure you that our commitment to delivering high quality produce at the best value will never be beaten.

And our commitment is not limited to you as shoppers but also to the wider community which we serve. Our Feed It Back food donation programme has donated 1.9 million meals since March 2020 – and over 6 million meals since the initiative began in 2017. As active members of Marcus Rashford’s Child Food Poverty Taskforce, we were delighted to be the first supermarket to increase the value of Healthy Start vouchers redeemed in our stores by more than a third to help eligible parents and families in Wales and England provide healthy meals for their children.

As we move full steam ahead into 2021, Lidl and its colleagues will always be here to support you and your family. Stay safe.

Best wishes,

Christian Härtnagel
Chief Executive Officer
Lidl GB LTD