After causing a price war among the top four supermarkets in the country by claiming bigger and bigger portions of the market, the discount stores can now boast an exclusive clothing range.
Lidl have announced that they will be selling the ‘Esmara’ range of clothing, which focuses on jeans, shirts, jumpers and boots. They are aiming to sell “on trend” clothing which balances “quality and affordability.”
Until now, clothing sold in Lidl has been minimal, but launching this alternative line will hopefully take on the likes of Asda’s George range, not necessarily combating it on quality or choice, but definitely on price.
The new range includes blouses, shirts, skirts and jackets for just £5.99, jeans for £6.99, and boots for under £10.
Some of the items are apparently hit and miss, but for the low prices, the range seems to be promising.
Low prices are still hugely important to shoppers these days, even though the economy is supposedly on track after the crash of 2008. Cheap clothes are going to prompt some interest and further threaten the big stores.
Whether Lidl will manage to sell in the face of cheap discount clothes stores like Primark is another matter, as is whether Aldi will have to up its game and work to release a clothing brand of its own or fall behind.
The clothing on offer is generally targeted at women, however, there could be further expansions in the future to include a men’s range.
Pressure is continually being applied by the discounters and the third quarter will have interesting results as to whether Tesco and the other superstores have managed to claw back any market share.
