Lidl Ireland opened a new store this morning, on the Dublin Road in Longford, creating an additional 14 jobs for the area.
Longford Ladies’ Gaelic Football captain Caoimhe McCormack and vice-captains Niamh Brady and Grace Kenny joined the team at Lidl Longford to cut the ribbon.
The highly anticipated new and improved store brought the existing Lidl Longford team of 31 employees to the new premises.
The sales floor has increased in size, to 1,670 square metres, granting almost 70% more sales space than the previous store.
The modern fit-out features high ceilings, wide aisles, an in-store bakery, longer till points, and enhanced restrooms and employee facilities.
It also has a newly landscaped customer car park, with more than 120 spaces, including electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
The first ten customers in line this morning received complimentary vouchers to shop Lidl’s renowned range of high-quality products.
Lidl’s long-standing Longford-based bread supplier, Panelto Foods, also treated customers to in-store sampling.
The supplier secured a €22 million contract with the retailer in 2023.
To mark the opening, the team in Longford welcomed Teresa Gilchriest and Therese O’Shea from local homeless charity Depaul Longford Services to accept a donation of €1,000 in Lidl vouchers.
‘Enhanced Shopping Experience’
Speaking at the opening, store manager Martina said, “We are delighted to be warmly welcomed back by the Longford community, and it was amazing to see so many familiar faces through the door this morning.
“As proud supporters of Ladies’ Gaelic Football since 2016, we were thrilled to have Caoimhe, Niamh and Grace from Longford LGFA to join us in the celebrations and officially open our new store.
“The store team have been working very hard behind the scenes to get the store up and running, so it’s great to see all our hard work pay off with a successful opening.
“We hope the local community enjoy their enhanced shopping experience, with larger aisles, longer till points, increased natural lighting, and our well-loved bakery, with freshly baked breads and pastries available every day.”
Lidl first opened in Longford in 2000, and since then, it has become an integral part of the community.
In 2023, Lidl Ireland procured a total of €100 million worth of goods and services from Longford-based suppliers and business partners.
This makes up part of a record total of €1.6 billion procured by the retailer from Irish businesses in 2023.
Lidl Ireland also exported €300 million worth of Irish products through its international store network across Europe and beyond.
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