The French branch of German retailer Lidl has revealed plans to 'exit the hard discount sector', according to various reports.

Lidl France's new boss Friedrich Fuchs made the announcement in Paris this week, and he added that the retailer would 'continue to offer the best quality-to-price ratio and the best service'.

Since the start of the financial crisis, the hard discount sector has consistently lost customers in France, due in part to the increasing popularity of convenience stores equally committed to low prices.

In September, the sector recorded a 0.8 per cent drop in market share in France, according to figures from Kantar, including a 0.3 for Lidl alone.

One change that is widely anticipated is to the way fruit and vegetables are displayed in the stores.

However, despite the changes to Lidl in the French market, back in June, the discounter overtraded in fresh produce by 1.2 percentage points in the UK, with a 4.1 per cent retail share of fruit and vegetables.

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