Hearts & Minds: Lidl’s middle aisle aside shows the power of a non-financial theme

There must be plenty of CEOs and their comms teams who shook their heads this morning. Near the top of every newspaper and news bulletin was the Lidl chief Ryan McDonnell. It was the budget supermarket’s results yesterday and its boss was everywhere. Not because of its performance but because of the comments he made about the ‘middle of Lidl’, the central aisle that carries unusual, sometimes off-the-wall, items for a grocer.

According to the boss, men are buying more from that section. “We often get partners at odds with each other because men have disappeared up the aisle and are buying things they maybe already have.” McDonnell added: “I would say there are a lot of men in trouble when they come in here.”

It was not clear what he meant, exactly. Whether men are buying more than women or increasing numbers of men are shopping there. Nor was it apparent that his remarks were deliberate or if they arose casually from a chat with the BBC, which first reported them. Who cares. Reporters produced lists of some of the delights on offer: comic inflatables, bladeless fan, heated blanket, thermal pants, canoe, flamethrower for tackling weeds, cement mixer, ice spikes for shoes, inflatable hot tub, trumpet… And there were quotes from hard-pressed women finding gadgets put in their trollies at the checkouts. 

Lidl’s figures were also highlighted. More galling was that as a private company, Lidl is not even obliged to publish them, it chooses to do so. 

What this illustrates is the power of the non-commercial theme. Grip the media and by extension the public, with something that is not purely financial but a social trend and you could have a comms winner. Likewise, criticism of an aspect of government policy can achieve cut-through, taking a brand from the business pages and promoting it higher up the schedule. Sure enough, the last few days have seen column inches and the airwaves devoted to businesses complaining about the recent Budget, often in tandem with their results announcements.

Unless they are incredibly impressive or shockingly poor, figures on their own are usually not enough, even for household names. CEOs must be prepared to say more. It doesn’t have to be much – the middle of Lidl is not a new phenomenon, there are YouTube videos, Facebook groups and Reddit threads dedicated to middle-aisle finds. But editors are always looking for light to go with the shade. Lidl fitted the bill.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.