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German discount giant Lidl says it couldn’t have anticipated the demand which saw hundreds of people queue outside its shops from dawn this morning for deals on barbecues and garden furniture.
Angry customers vented their fury online about the lack of social distancing in some of the queues, and the lack of special-deal products which were actually on the shelves.
There were reports from early morning of long queues forming outside dozens of Lidl and Aldi stores across the country as the retail rivals’ weekly non-food special deals went on sale.
Lidl was focusing on barbecues and summer garden furniture. Its rattan-effect garden furniture set, including a table, sofa and two armchairs, on sale for just under € 160, required two people to lift it from the store.
Aldi was offering a range of summer garden items including a faux stone fire pit for € 59.99 and pop-up gazebos.
Fire pits at the Long Mile Road store sold out within 15 minutes.
One woman said she joined the queue outside her local Lidl store at 7.25am and was told by staff that she would not get the item she wanted because only three sets had been delivered to the store.
Another customer described the system as an absolute disgrace after a man placed his hand over a number of furniture sets and held them for a friend.
Lidl said the items were ordered and the promotions planned nearly a year in advance of sale.
“Unfortunately due to the unforeseen circumstances we as a country are now experiencing, we have seen a rapid increase in the level of demand for our gardening promotion this week that we simply could not have anticipated for at the time of ordering,” a spokesperson said .
“We apologize to customers who have been disappointed, and we ask them to be respectful towards our employees who have no control over product availability and are continuing to work hard to provide food and other essential supplies to communities across the country in this challenging time. “
Aldi did not respond to requests for comment.
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