Clashes between crowds of eager shoppers erupted across Bulgaria as they rushed to secure a bargain at the opening of several Lidl supermarkets Thursday.

Fortunately, nobody has been seriously hurt.

A woman suffered minor injuries in the stampede as crowds swarmed to the Lidl store in the Bulgarian town of Sliven.

In Sofia, Mayor Yordanka Fandakova had foresightedly called the police in advance.

The turmoils were caused by the German retailer's considerable discounts, even though the customers were limited to buying certain maximum amounts of goods.

Up to 3 kg of bargain-prized bananas were allowed per shopper.

German discount retailer Lidl opened its first stores in Bulgaria on Thursday morning, offering shockingly low prices, a move that will certainly heat up further the competition in the sector.

The fourteen shops are located in eleven cities - Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora, Pazardzhik, Sliven, Kurdjali, Petrich, Montana, Lovech and Gabrovo.

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