Nice pork, pity about the pizza

Judi Bevan finds her local Lidl discount store full of bargains — but not Boden-clad middle-class shoppers

Intrigued by reports that the middle classes are shopping at the German discount stores Aldi and Lidl — and even stuffing their purchases in Waitrose bags — I set off to track them down. My nearest Lidl is a couple of miles from my house at the northern end of Cricklewood Broadway — not exactly an area known for yummy-mummy sightings, and without a Starbucks or Caffè Nero for miles.

Yet the statistics say that sales at both Aldi and Lidl have been growing strongly since householders have been hit by higher petrol and utility bills. The latest figures from market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres showed Aldi and Lidl increasing their market shares by 19.8 per cent and 12.3 per cent respectively. In Aldi’s case, this boosted its market share to a new record of 3 per cent — only one percentage point behind Waitrose — while Lidl has 2.3