STV weatherman Sean Batty opens the 111th Scottish Lidl in Airdrie

STV weatherman Sean Batty paid a visit to the new Airdrie store in Lidl to cut the ribbon, officially marking the 111th Lidl in Scotland. The store opens as the discounter confirms it has achieved a record-breaking year of over £111,000 in donations to the STV Children’s Appeal.

Lidl colleagues raised the funds through team game nights, bucket collections, and cycling challenges. The funds go to grassroots charities and community organisations that support some of Scotland’s most vulnerable children and young people.

Airdrie locals queued excitedly for the store opening, as they waited to snap up some opening weekend offers available on selected home, kitchen and tech products, while stocks last. From opening day, there are great bargains for foodies in-store, with a crepe maker for £12.99, a bread machine for £24.99, and a jug blender for £14.99.

Located on Carlisle Road, the new store has a 1,255m² sales area and features Lidl’s much-loved in-store bakery - as well as customer toilets with baby changing facilities. Solar panels have also been installed on the roof, as well as rapid electric car charging points in the Lidl car park.

In addition, the site allows for a Drive Thru and future retail opportunities for other businesses. The Airdrie store has brought around 40 of the highest paying supermarket retail jobs to the local area, which has seen ongoing investment in the region since Lidl opened its regional distribution centre in Motherwell in 2019, and its Bellshill store in early 2022.

Weatherman and STV Children’s Appeal ambassador, Sean Batty, said: “It has been an honour to officially open Lidl’s 111th store in Airdrie, coinciding with a whopping £111,000 in Lidl donations to the STV Children’s Appeal. Vulnerable children and young people across Scotland are in need of our help now more than ever, and every donation goes a long way in supporting these vital charities and organisations.”

Lidl’s ongoing success shows no signs of slowing, with Lidl now the sixth largest supermarket in the UK. The discounter, which has a total market share of 7.2%, was recently named cheapest supermarket in The Grocer’s ‘Super Grocer 33’ for the third time in a row – beating six major retailers, including Aldi.

The index, which compares the price of 33 everyday grocery items across the UK’s seven major supermarkets, found Lidl to be £15.44 cheaper than Morrisons, and £27.88 cheaper than the most expensive retailer.