Lidl began selling a padded gilet from its Esmara own-brand range in stores on Friday, 6 November, priced at €12.99, according to Magazine.HD. The piece is available in women's and men's versions and is the least expensive item in the supermarket chain's new collection of coats and vests.
The retailer's autumn-winter line also includes jogging trousers in a Nike-like style, jeans cut in the manner of Levi's, and a light padded jacket that Magazine.HD describes as reminiscent of Columbia's outerwear. The gilet sits alongside those items as the entry-level option on price.
Why it matters
Supermarkets have spent years pushing into clothing, and Lidl's strategy here is familiar: take a silhouette shoppers already associate with established sportswear and outdoor brands, then undercut them. A €12.99 padded layer is cheap enough to be an impulse buy next to the groceries, which is precisely the point.
The gilet also fills a practical gap. Sleeveless padded layers have become a standard part of cold-weather dressing because they trap heat around the torso — the part of the body where retaining warmth matters most, as Magazine.HD notes — while leaving the arms unencumbered. That makes the garment easier to move in than a full jacket, and the outlet points to driving, walking, working outdoors and hiking as situations where the design pays off.
What the piece is made of
According to Magazine.HD, the gilet is made entirely from polyester and carries padding designed to hold warmth against the trunk. Sizing runs from S to XL depending on the model, and the colour options include beige, black and dark blue.
The women's cut has a high collar and a shorter, roomier shape. On the black and dark blue versions, the padding is arranged in horizontal panels, with a zip fastening at the front, the outlet reports.
Magazine.HD frames the gilet as a layering tool rather than a standalone coat. It suggests wearing it over a knitted jumper, a sweatshirt or a shirt for anyone who wants extra insulation without looking scruffy, and notes that it can also go underneath a heavier coat when temperatures drop properly. That flexibility, the outlet argues, stretches its use across autumn and winter as well as spring, when mornings and evenings turn chilly.
Part of a broader promotional push
The gilet's launch follows the leaflet that Lidl put out on Monday, 2 November, which Magazine.HD reports also featured a premium espresso coffee machine, a vacuum cleaner with an unusual function priced under €13, and freezer containers in the style of Tupperware. The outlet, which covers supermarket leaflets and consumer offers closely, treats the clothing drop as part of the same wave of promotions rather than a standalone fashion event.
For shoppers, the appeal is straightforward arithmetic: a padded layer for less than the price of a mid-range takeaway meal, available in the same trip as the weekly shop. For Lidl, it is another test of whether its own-brand clothing can pull customers away from specialist retailers on price alone.
Magazine.HD's coverage of the range suggests the chain is deliberately echoing well-known labels — Nike for the joggers, Levi's for the denim, Columbia for the padded jacket — a tactic that gives shoppers an instant reference point for what they are buying. The gilet, which the outlet links to Zara in its headline, follows the same playbook.
What to watch
Whether the gilet holds up in practice is the open question, and Magazine.HD does not offer a verdict on quality. Supermarket clothing lines often sell through quickly, particularly at promotional prices, so availability may vary by store. Shoppers interested in the women's high-collar cut or the specific colourways should check their local branch rather than assume the full size range is in stock. The next Lidl leaflet will show whether the chain keeps expanding its clothing offer at this price level.
