A Second Lidl in Bitola: A Ceremonial Foundation Stone, and Not a Word on How Many Jobs or How Much Money

Bitola has another shovel stuck in the ground. German retail chain Lidl laid the foundation stone for its second supermarket in the city, in Nova Bitola, while the first is in the final phase of construction. Mayor Toni Konjanovski and the company's real estate director, Katarina Zorić, marked the start of construction in front of the cameras.

The numbers that were announced are about construction. A building on a 5,288-square-metre site, a 1,546-square-metre sales floor, 108 parking spaces, more than 20 percent of the plot as green space and a new access road. Lidl, part of the Schwarz Group, has around 12,900 stores in 31 countries and more than 395,000 employees.

How many jobs?

This is where the speeches get foggy. Konjanovski spoke of "added value for Bitola's economy", "new jobs" and "partnerships with domestic companies". Zorić said the company is opening "new jobs for Macedonian citizens" and is "a bridge to European markets" for local firms. Neither speech mentioned how many people will work in the new store, how much the investment costs, or which domestic companies are already becoming suppliers.

This isn't an accusation against Lidl - a company isn't obliged to reveal every figure at a ceremony. But it's fair to expect that from the mayor. When the municipality sells an investment as a development breakthrough, citizens have the right to know exactly what they're getting, beyond a car park with 108 spaces. Konjanovski, among other things, thanked the company for previously donating a sports ground.

Two stores from the same chain in one city are a clear signal that Bitola is a market worth being in. The question is whether Bitola knows what it's worth - and whether anyone at the municipality put that question on the table before posing for photos with the shovel.