The chief executive of Lidl’s UK arm has resigned after leading the budget supermarket retailer’s successful throughout the country.
Ronny Gottschlich has been replaced by 34-year-old Christian Hartnagel, who is the new chief executive of Lidl Great Britain with immediate effect.
It is not yet known why Gottschlich has left the German grocery chain.
Härtnagel has spent 13 years with Lidl, working his way up through various management roles, including regional director at Lidl Ireland, and leading the sales and operations for Lidl Austria as a board director.
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Meanwhile, Gottschlich‘s departure marks the end of 16 years with the company – six of which was spent as the boss of Lidl UK.
Under his reign, Lidl opened 630 stores in just six years – and this year it overtook Aldi as the fastest-growing grocer in the UK, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
Both Lidl and Aldi have shaken up the UK grocery sector, provoking an intense price war with the Big 4 retailers after stealing some of their market share.
Lidl stated Hartnagel would be responsible for “moving the business forward and securing its ongoing market growth”.
The grocer is in the midst of further rapid expansion, with the aim of bringing their total number of British stores to 1500.
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