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Kurt Sansone
German supermarket chain Lidl is set to open at least three stores in Malta with the first one in St Venera.
The St Venera store, situated just up from the St Francis Church and convent on the road leading up to St Philip’s Hospital, a site that had been earmarked for a massive showroom some years ago, will be the first to open under the Lidl brand.
Ernst & Young have over recent weeks been conducting job interviews on behalf of Lidl Italia, the Italian subsidiary of the German chain that will be investing in Malta. Prospective candidates for top posts in the company are being requested to work for at least a year in one of Lidl’s stores in Italy to gain work experience.
It is still unclear when Lidl will start its Malta operation but the German chain will be importing a wide range of things from groceries to furniture, which is a characteristic of the chain’s overseas operation.
Lidl Italia opened two companies in Malta early last year, with one of them having an issued share capital of Lm2 million. Lidl Italia also secured a loan from the European Investment Bank to the tune of EUR55 million, for the development of “some small to medium-sized commercial outlets and a new distribution centre” in Italy and Malta.
Lidl is a major European discount chain offering both branded products and Lidl-branded goods.
In January, an Italian spokesperson for the company would not comment on the plans for the Malta-based operation citing “company policy” as a reason to turn down this newspaper’s request for information.
Lidl would be the second foreign supermarket chain to open shop in Malta after Italian grocery giant Sisa opened here in 2004. Sisa now operates four outlets and sells Sisa-branded products as well as third party goods.
ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt
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