Discount food store Lidl will be closing its doors at the Bournemouth town centre store in October.

The news has been described as a blow to neighbouring traders, and leaves just one larger food store in the town centre, Tesco in Bournemouth Square.

The store’s closure comes months after neighbouring store Wilko shut its doors for good in February.

Read more: Lidl to close in Bournemouth town centre

Bosses stated they had struggled to come to “more agreeable” lease terms with the landlord of the shopping centre complex.

Why is Lidl leaving?

In a letter to to staff, following a meeting on Sunday, Lidl said the current lease expires on October 27, and the store needs vacating on October 7.

The letter, which has been seen by the Daily Echo, says they are not planning to renew their lease because:

  • Turnover is not recovering to pre-pandemic levels
  • Large scale investment is needed in the store to modernise
  • The neighbouring property (Wilko) is vacant which has resulted in a drop in footfall to the shopping centre. This has impacted the turnover.
  • An 'unreliable' stock lift has resulted in the utilisation of the neighbouring property access, which is no longer possible as the store is empty.

Read more: Shop owners react to closure of Lidl in Bournemouth centre

What will happen to staff?

A Lidl spokesperson confirmed the store would be closing “at the end of our lease this year” but that Bournemouth town centre remained on its desired site requirements list.

They also confirmed staff would be given the opportunity to relocate to other stores.

In the letter, the company said they would be exploring ways of avoiding or reducing the number of redundancies.

Where are other Lidl stores nearby?

Nearby Lidl stores remain open at Poole Road in Branksome, Christchurch Road in Boscombe, Holdenhurst Road, and Wimborne Road in Winton.