Lidl launches school uniform for £3.75… just as rival Aldi slashes its prices to undercut them by 6p
Parents buy 38 pieces of school kit every year and spend an average of £500 for two children, according to a recent study
DISCOUNT supermarkets are helping mums to keep costs down this year by offering complete school uniforms for under £4.
Lidl is the latest retailer to wage war on the “back to school” market by offering a pack of two polo shirts, a unisex jumper and trousers or a pleated skirt for a budget-saving total of £3.75.
The German store's range, which hits stores on 21 July, offers 41 different garments in total including leather school shoes from £6.99.
However, rival chain Aldi has today decided to slash the price of their equivalent primary school uniform to undercut the retailer by 6p.
A sweater at Aldi is now 94p, two polo shirts are £1.25 and trousers or a skirt are £1.50, bringing the total to £3.69.
Tony Baines, Managing Director for Corporate Buying at Aldi comments: “In order to deliver outstanding quality at unbeatable prices, we have reduced the retail of our Back to School uniform package from £4 to £3.69.”
Both Lidl and Aldi's bargain basics are much cheaper than at mainstream stores.
A similar outfit costs £7.50 at Asda, £8.50 at Tesco and £13.50 at Sainsbury’s.
Parents are advised to stock up on the ranges quickly as popular sizes are likely to be snapped up during the summer holidays.
Lidl claims their collection will save an average family with two children more than £2,800 throughout their time at primary school.
They also insist that while prices are low, they have not scrimped on quality.
Lidl UK non-food buying manager Josie Stone said: “Parents can find themselves racking up thousands of pounds in the cost of school uniforms, which can be especially tough on families with more than one child.
“That’s why we wanted to offer families the best value, best quality option on the high street.”
According to a recent study, parents buy 38 pieces of school kit every year and spend an average of £500 for two children.
However, earlier this year Lidl sparked controversy when it offered a pair of jeggings for just £5.99 at its 600-plus UK stores.
The items were manufactured in Bangladesh, where the minimum legal wage for a garment worker is 23p an hour.
Lidl said the school uniforms were made in Bangladesh and China.
Martin Buttle, head of apparel and textiles at the Ethical Trading Initiative, told Guardian: “Paying an extra couple of pounds on a school uniform is not normally a massive cost to a UK consumer, but the difference can be huge to a Bangladeshi or Chinese garment worker.”