Lidl to open second city centre supermarket in Cork

Supermarket operator is also building new distribution centre in Little Island

The German-headquartered chain said it planned to rapidly expand its store network in Ireland over the next five years. Picture Denis Minihane

Supermarket chain Lidl is opening a new store in Cork City, located in Merchant's Quay.

The grocer will occupy the premises left vacant by SuperValu when it closed in 2023. Once opened, it will become Lidl's second city-centre location, with another outlet located in the Cornmarket Centre.

Lidl operates 190 stores in the Republic from its three regional distribution centres at Charleville in North Cork, Mullingar, and Newbridge.

It operates 52 stores across Munster, including 22 in Cork, six in Limerick, four in Waterford, and eight in Kerry.

Earlier this year, Lidl received planning approval for a new €200m regional distribution centre in Little Island as it plans for further expansion. The retailer said the new centre was anticipated to come on stream by 2030.

The German-headquartered chain said it planned to rapidly expand its store network in Ireland over the next five years. Last year, it announced a fresh investment of €600m in developing 35 new stores, along with the Little Island distribution centre.

The supermarket and grocery sectors in Ireland are highly competitive. Card spending data from the Central Bank shows consumers spend between €1.5bn and €2bn every month on groceries. Separate data from Worldpanel by Numerator, which tracks supermarket spending in Ireland, shows Lidl grew its market share to 14.8% in May, a new record for the retailer.

Its arrival in Merchant's Quay will boost the location. Last year, planning permission was granted for the merging of some units on the centre's first floor to create a buffet-style restaurant.

Dublin firm Yolo Party Ltd, headed by Ho Wing, lodged plans for the development with City Hall in September, stating the space would be used for the provision of a 'Wing's World Cuisine' restaurant.

The company already runs such an outlet on Dublin's Wolfe Tone Street and is described as a casual dining buffet with a variety of cooking stations preparing meals from around the world.

Separately, work continues on the renovation of the former Roches/Debenhams building on St Patrick's Street, which was acquired by sports chain Elverys in 2023.