CASHIERS at Lidl supermarkets every Thursday weather a turbulent scrum of bargain-buyers that other stores can probably only hope for on the opening days of their winter and summer sales.
The German chain, which opened nine outlets in Cyprus late last year, is well-known for its cheap food and booze. But it lures in even more customers each Thursday with its weekly special offers on a bewildering array of items.
“There’s this incredible surge of customers. One Thursday, there was so much pressure that my feet weren’t touching the ground,” said Nikos Nikolaou, a dedicated weekly bargain hunter. “It’s well worth fighting through the chaos though. I’ve snapped up tools and clothes and lots of other bits and pieces.”
Last week, there were cheap deals on orthopaedic pillows, drills, sanders, scissors, printers and slippers. Something, it seems, for everyone in the family. The bargain drill went for €44, the sander for
€29,99 and the pillow for €11.99.
The scale of the chaos varies according to what’s on offer. Last week, for instance, the barging trolleys homed in on a Hewlett Packard colour printer-scanner-copier that could be snapped up for €59.99.
“Shoppers can get ever so aggressive,” says Magda Mavromatis, another regular avid weekly bargain hunter, adding that the scrum is worse whenever the bargains appeal to men.
“The worst I saw was a few weeks ago when they had a deal on chain saws. I saw this poor woman squashed between trolleys. She was unable to move.”
Another customer has learnt the hard way that for the popular bargains it pays to go early and join the trolley crowd waiting impatiently outside before the shop opens at 8.00am. “I came at 10am one time and they were out of the radios and pillows I wanted to buy. I was insulted,” said Moses Elmadjian.
According to Vassiliki Adamidou, PR manager for Lidl Cyprus, Lidl attempts to ensure as many customers as possible can take advantage of what’s on offer by limiting shoppers to how many they can buy. Each shopper is allowed two of each item.
“Our special offers every Thursday receive extremely positive comments and great interest from all Cypriots,” said Adamidou, confirming how zealous its customers are.
And are all these bargains worth the flailing elbows? Or do they end up unopened at the back of a cupboard?
“Well, I did buy the car boot protector they had on offer just after Christmas,” said Mavromatis. “I thought it would help keep the car clean, but I’ve not opened it yet.”
She also bought the chainsaw. “We’ve got a lot of trees in our garden,” she said, defensively. “But to be honest, I’m probably too scared to use it.”
