Lidl is now the Czech Republic’s highest-rated supermarket

Lidl has overtaken Kaufland as the Czech consumer’s supermarket of choice in 2019, according to a new public opinion research poll conducted by Nielsen.

The poll shows a huge shift in public opinion over the past decade-plus since Lidl came into the Czech market back in 2005. While the German discount supermarket was once seen as an inferior alternative in the Czech Republic, it now rates as the country’s strongest supermarket brand.

Among the top-rated Czech supermarkets, Lidl has displaced Kaufland, which led the Nielsen poll for six consecutive years from 2012-2017.

More than 1000 respondents aged 18 to 65 were polled for the Nielsen rankings; each was asked the name of their favorite supermarket in the Czech Republic, which store they would recommend to others, if they were willing to pay more to shop at their preferred supermarket, and if they were willing to travel a greater distance to get there.

The top eight supermarkets in the Czech Republic were then graded on an index of 0 to 3.0.

Lidl’s 3.0 rating is the highest recorded by Nielsen since 2012, topping Kaufland’s previous high score of 2.9 in 2017.

Lidl’s revenues are also quickly catching up to Kaufland, which has been the highest-grossing Czech supermarket over the past few years. Kaufland’s reported revenue was 57.6 billion crowns in 2018, while Lidl was second with 52.3 billion crowns.

Both Lidl and Kaufland are owned by the German retail group Schwarz.

Albert came in third in the Nielsen poll with a rating of 1.6; it’s a new high for the supermarket chain, up from a low of 1.2 in 2014.

Tesco and Globus rated fourth and fifth in the poll, respectively; both supermarket chains are on downward swings since 2012.

Penny, Billa, and Makro rounded out the lowest-rated Czech supermarkets, though Makro’s membership model and low number of outlets gave it a disadvantage in the polling.