Lidl’s middle aisle has a “big male following,” according to the German discounter’s UK boss Ryan McDonnell.
The news that men buy more stuff than women from the so-called ‘middle of Lidl’ will surprise no one who has ever been in one of its stores.
For all the Waitrose shoppers out there though, the middle of Lidl is devoted to an ever-changing assortment of products which range from the prosaic to the, it’s fair to say, extremely esoteric.
At the time of writing, you could find some cracking deals on irons, frying pans and other humdrum household wares.
However, customers have previously been tempted by two-person inflatable kayaks (paddles included), paddling pools for dogs (dogs not included) and plasma cutters (air compressor built-in).
Now, why blokes drift away from the fruit and veg to peruse tools seldom seen outside of a shipyard is a mystery to UTC, but this middle aisle malaise is causing chaos with couples.
McDonnell said he had known rows between partners after a man had become “intrigued by a gadget or two”.
Indeed, Under The Counter himself once found himself in a heated debate because of the middle aisle, although it was Mrs UTC who’d made a rash purchase.
The Auld Boy was giddy with excitement when his good lady returned from doing the big shop to breathlessly inform him she had bought a flamethrower.
However, UTC was raging to discover that this was in fact a gas-powered gizmo for despatching weeds and that he had just been volunteered for a shift in the garden.
