Lidl targets boycott for filing shoplifting complaint against grandmother in Greece

A 70-year-old Greek pensioner was caught on Saturday February 12 stealing 40 euros worth of food from a Lidl supermarket in Athens, report Neos Kosmos and International mail. Contacted by store security, the police came to arrest the septuagenarian under the gaze of other customers, some of whom had offered to pay for the retiree’s shopping.

In the grip of great financial difficulties, the septuagenarian admitted to the police having made a bad choice, by trying to steal these purchases. Desperate for her situation, she wanted to invite her children to dinner and finally offer them a decent meal. Asked by local television Open, the neighbors of this retiree said that “she is often hungry” when she has to support “her two sons, one unemployed and the other with four children”.

His retirement pension of 800 euros would only cover the mortgage on his house, deposited as a financial guarantee for the businesses of his children, hard hit during the health crisis. Added to this is expensive medical treatment not covered by health insurance.

A call for a boycott

In shock after her arrest, the septuagenarian would have tried to end her life. Since then, a vast wave of solidarity has been set up in Greece, to help this retiree. When the complaint filed by Lidl against this grandmother was announced, the hashtag #cancellidl invaded social networks. Several supermarkets were also vandalized. “We are deeply saddened by the recent incident at our Ilion branch. Its manager is responsible for following all necessary steps in the event of criminal activity, as do all of our branch managers…Company management is aware of the incident and will ensure that it ends here,” Lidl said in a statement.

After the intervention of the Ministry of Development, Thursday, February 17, the sign indicated that it wished to withdraw its complaint. “I don’t want to blame the company, they followed the law and the procedures. Obviously not all cases are the same, but an employee or a store may not have the authority to make such a distinction” , reacted Minister Adonis Georgiadis, quoted by Neos Kosmos.

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