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Supermarket chain Lidl has said it has switched off half of its in-store lights to reduce costs and protect customers from price increases.

The company's CEO for the island of Ireland told ����ý News NI the move was part of overall cost-cutting efforts.

The discount retailer has also announced £150m to expand its store network.

The investment could create up to 400 jobs between now and 2030, the company said.

JP Scally, Chief Executive Officer Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, said they will also continue to invest in upgrading its existing stores.

‘Reduce electricity bills'

Lidl’s market share in Northern Ireland has continued to grow and is now 9.1%, according to the latest data.

Its turnover hit a record of £492m in 2023/24.

The retail sector appears to be experiencing a pick-up in new orders, but cost pressures remain an issue, according to a recent Ulster Bank survey.

Mr Scally was asked if the retailer had benefitted from higher food prices.

“We've examined every area of our business to see how we could cut out cost to minimise the impact on our customers," he said.

"We've taken many different measures and a simple example of that is lighting in our stores.

"Customers might have noticed that we've turned off half the lights in our stores over the past year and a half just to try and reduce electricity bills which allows us to really shield customers from some of those price increases,” he said.

More jobs?

The most recent investment announcement will see the development of new stores, in new locations.

Other stores will be relocated or rebuilt to increase capacity for an expanding product range.

“We have two brand new stores in build at the moment in Boucher Road and in Carryduff. We've just recently received planning after a number of years for a relocation of our store in Newcastle.

“Our ambition is to have 50 stores in the region by 2030, and that will be nine additional stores from where we currently stand," he said.

“Looking at the rate of expansion of employee numbers over the past few years and applying that trend to the years ahead, along with the new store openings, we can probably expect to have between 200 and 400 new colleagues within our business between now and 2030,” Mr Scally added.

Lidl has had a presence in Northern Ireland for 25 years and has commissioned a report through Oxford Economics to assess its economic impact.

The findings suggest the supermarket has supported almost 7,000 jobs through its stores and supply chains.