Lidl’s UK boss has unexpectedly left the company and is being replaced by the sales and operations director of the supermarket group’s Austrian business.
Ronny Gottschlich, who has run the German discounter’s UK store chain for six years, departed on Thursday. It is not clear whether or not he has taken up a new post but sources said he was likely to face a year of gardening leave under any departure agreement.
The exit of the 41-year-old who has spent at least 16 years at Lidl is unexpected. Gottschlich has overseen a period of dramatic growth for Lidl through clever marketing and the introduction of more upmarket products, particularly at Christmas. He is being replaced by 34-year-old German national Christian Härtnagel.
One well-informed source said Gottschlich’s relations with Lidl’s head office in Germany had increasingly cooled as he had adopted a series of policies radically different in culture to the parent group.
The source said Gottschlich’s focus on marketing and PR and the roll out of additional benefits for workers such as matching the independently verified living wage and offering a staff discount had been frowned on by head office. Meanwhile, his heavy investment in marketing and rapid sales growth had led to issues in Lidl’s logistical operation and pressure on profits, according to the source.
The appointment of Härtnagel is seen as a likely attempt to bring Lidl’s UK operation back in line with the rest of the business and put a lid on costs. The Austrian operation from which he joins has a more traditional Lidl culture and is seen as a training camp for executives.
Härtnagel has been with Lidl for 13 years and has worked in different management roles, including as regional director at Lidl Ireland. Most recently, he was responsible for sales and operations as a board director for Lidl Austria.
In his new position, Härtnagel will be responsible for continuing Lidl’s ambitious UK investment plans with the potential for stores to more than double in number to 1,500 in the long term.
In the financial year 2015, Lidl Great Britain achieved revenue of £4.7bn from its 630 stores in England, Scotland and Wales.
Gottschlich was unavailable for comment.
