Lidl boss speaks out: Unexpected tax changes might affect UK shopping prices
Major UK retailers face a £7bn cost increase due to new tax rules that caught them off-guard. Lidlʼs chief joins industry-wide warning about possible price hikes and job cuts while reporting strong company growth
The new tax policy changes have caught UK retailers off-guard according to Ryan McDonnell‚ Lidl GBʼs chief exec (who shared his thoughts about the unexpected costs hitting the industry). The changes to employer National Insurance came as a surprise making retailers re-think their plans: some of these expenses werent part of their calculations
Major UK store chains including Marks & Spencer‚ Boots and Tesco sent a joint-message to Rachel Reeves highlighting how the new rules will lead to job cuts. The main issue is the employers NIC threshold drop from £9‚100 to £5‚000 — something no-one saw coming
The bill for the retail industry is around £7bn so all of us concerned are looking at multi-million pound bills
Lidlʼs numbers show a turn-around with £43.6m pre-tax profit til Feb 2024‚ compared to last years £75m loss. The company got 300‚000 new shoppers and its market-share went up from 6.9% to 7.7% in about 2 years time. The budget-friendly store chain plans to open:
- 18 new stores by early-2025
- 40 more shops in the following year
The German-owned retailer keeps getting more popular with 6 in 10 UK homes now shopping at its stores. While McDonnell promises to stay cheaper than other supermarkets he mentions that some price changes might happen due to cost pressures
