Lidl Introduces Women's Fashion Range

Not content to just eat other superstores' lunches, budget chain Lidl is set to have the shirts off their backs as well, as it presents its own cheap and cheerful women's fashion range.

The German store, which is owned by the Schwarz Group, will begin selling a selection of women's clothing on 25 August, according to the Telegraph.

Lidl, which already stocks a basic range of clothing such as vests and children's attire, told the newspaper that it will launch a men's clothing range in November.

Lidl plans to sell a range of clothing items at bargain basement prices, such as jeans for £6.99, shirts for £5.99 and leather jackets at the astonishing price of £14.99.

The clothes will be stocked on a seasonal basis, featuring a cycle of new collections, much the same way Asda operates its George range, or Tesco's F&F.

Kantar Worldpanel believes that Lidl now holds 3.6% of the market, according to the research firm's latest quarterly report, up 19.5% on same quarter in 2013.

Budget supermarkets Lidl and Aldi have taken a significant bite into the market shares of their mid-market counterparts.

While Tesco and Morrisons have been cutting jobs, Lidl announced in June that it plans to create 2,500 jobs in the UK as part of a £200m investment programme.

The German retailer, which currently has 600 stores in the UK, also plans to increase the number of outlets to 620 by the end of 2014.