News hardware Lidl: smartphones, connected watches… The discount giant attacks Apple and Samsung
Arrived in France in 1989 with the desire to break codes, and especially prices, Lidl, the German distribution giant, now has more than 1,500 stores in France. Seeking at all costs to break away from its image as a low-cost chain, Lidl stands out with well-received marketing moves, particularly in the Tech market.
Mr Cuisine Connect SilverCrest, Lidl’s stroke of genius
We often ignore it, but most traditional retail or e-commerce brands all have a sub-brand or a partnership dedicated to Tech. We can for example mention BlueSky at Carrefour, Continental Edison at Cdiscount, EssentielB at Boulanger, Proline at Darty or even SilverCrest at Lidl to name a few.
It was on June 3, 2019 that Lidl really got into the game with its famous multifunction food processor, the popular Mr Cuisine Connect, marketed under the SilverCrest brand. An immediate success (we remember fights in some stores) and an unexpected spotlight for the German brand. It’s very simple, with each announcement of the release of a new model or a restocking, it’s the same refrain, we are entitled to queues several tens of meters long, worthy of the release of a new iPhone.
Following this incredible success, Lidl has marketed a whole host of products under the SilverCrest brand, from gardening tools to connected scales, including connected watches and wireless headphones. Not to mention the derivative products, such as Christmas sweaters, sports socks or trainers in the colors of the sign.
Smartphone at 70 euros, the other big buzz from Lidl
Another stroke of genius from Lidl, which caused a lot of talk last year and which is emerging these days without anyone understanding why, concerned the release of a smartphone at only… 70 euros!
The announcement dates from January 29, 2021, Lidl Spain then teases the release in its stores of the Gigaset GS110 smartphone at only €70. An offer reserved for Spain, but that the whole of Europe will relay, convinced that it would come out everywhere. It was nothing, but the blow of com’ was there. In itself, the smartphone was nothing exceptional, but with its large 6.1-inch screen, its removable 3000 mAh battery, its 8 Mpx camera and its Dual SIM + SD card drawer, it could boast of to be the cheapest smartphone on the market if not the most efficient.
Subsequently, Lidl continued to venture into the world of Tech, we think in particular of its wireless headphones, its Bluetooth speakers and the whole range of Smart Home connected products to bring your home to life.
Smart Home, the connected home according to Lidl
Lidl’s other major project in the world of Tech is everything related to the famous “connected home” and which can be found under the Livarno brands for the lights, SilverCrest for the electrical part, or Zigbee for the software part. This works in particular with the famous Smar Life or Tuya platform and easily integrates into a Google Home environment (but not with Alexa from Amazon, a direct competitor in the field of distribution).
In the Lidl Smart Home range, there are connected sockets and bulbs, projectors, ceiling lights, motion detectors and LED strips.
An increasingly strong and increasingly pronounced hold that may allow Lidl to enter the court of the major players in the High-Tech market in the coming years… Who knows?
By LudolinkJournalist jeuxvideo.com
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