The German retail chain Lidl, part of the Schwarz Group, has announced a strategic partnership with 1GLOBAL. This five-year collaboration aims to transform Lidl into a fully-fledged virtual mobile network operator (MVNO) across the European market. 1GLOBAL's technological solution will enable the chain to offer its own mobile tariffs and data services, which will be integrated directly into the existing Lidl Plus application.
The planned expansion envisages extending services to up to 30 European countries, which corresponds to complete coverage of Lidl stores in Europe. Currently, the technology partner has secured licenses and collaborations with operators in 12 countries. The strategy assumes that Lidl will act as an independent provider in individual markets but will use local partners' networks for technical signal provision. Through this step, traditional operators will gain access to a vast customer base, comprising more than 12,000 stores and 100 million app users.
“With Lidl Connect and Lidl Plus services, we will enable nationwide connectivity in markets where Lidl operates. As a regulated provider, we will provide the technical platform and necessary licenses,” stated 1GLOBAL regarding the partnership.
The previous model, where Lidl operated services under the Lidl Connect brand via separate applications in countries such as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, will be gradually unified. The Lidl Plus application will become the central point. Previously, it only served users for discount coupons and browsing flyers, but now it will allow complete tariff management, data consumption tracking, and activation of new packages without the need to visit a store or install additional software.
Although the exact timetable for the domestic market has not been announced, the Czech Republic is among the countries where Lidl plans to launch its mobile services in the future. 1GLOBAL already technically provides data eSIM cards for the financial platform Revolut in the Czech Republic, suggesting that the infrastructure for starting operations is partially ready. The offering for Czech customers will likely adhere to a strategy of low prices and simplicity, similar to Germany, where the operator uses the Vodafone network and offers prepaid cards with unlimited calls.