Lidl opens a pop-up fashion boutique

(Author : Stefan Van Rompaey)
Textile is a growth area for food retailer Lidl and it hopes to make people notice its fashion product range with a pop-up store in Hamburg. Its private label Esmara will be on display there, a brand focused entirely on women.

Between luxury brands
Why are food discounters now interested in exclusive fashion? Aldi already did a remarkable collaboration with fashion designer Jette Joop and now Lidl wants to emphasize its fashion product range. To that end, it will open a pop-up store in Hamburg’s most desirable shopping street, the Neuer Wall, home to luxury brands like Prada and Gucci. For 10 days, Lidl will display its Esmara fashion collection, mainly as a means to draw attention. “Our primary goal is not to generate revenue”, purchase director Jan Bock told Handelsblatt.

Reach wider audience
Lidl aims to reach a wider audience and counts on the fact that an increasing number of customers (still mostly women) will not only shop at Lidl for food, but also for clothing. Many consumers tend to combine brand items with cheaper fast-fashion clothing from H&M, Zara or supermarket chains. According to a ranking in German trade magazine Textilwirtschaft, Lidl is eight in Germany for textile sales, just ahead of Aldi. The discounter’s Esmara brand doubled its turnover since 2012. The new collection varies from 5.99 euro for a scarf to 49.99 euro for a cashmere sweater and will be available in all German Lidl stores later this month.

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