Status: 18/09/2023, 22:07 p.m.
By: Nadja Zinsmeister
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Lidl Germany announced a surprising leadership change on Monday. Christian Härtnagel will no longer be head of the German branches.
Berlin/Munich - Christian Härtnagel was head of the discounter Lidl in Germany for almost two years. On Monday, the company surprisingly announced its resignation. There are said to be personal reasons behind the decision. Most recently, Lidl outraged with a nationwide scandal because of inappropriate content on children's products.
Lidl with surprising news: Germany boss Christian Härtnagel resigns
Several media had previously reported on Härtnagel's resignation from Lidl Germany. Accordingly, he is retiring from his position as Chairman of the Executive Board of Lidl Germany for unknown personal reasons. Instead of saying goodbye, however, Lidl only announced a change on Monday. As a result, Härtnagel is to join the board of the Lidl Foundation from 1 October and will be responsible for Lidl's online business in the future.
Lidl Germany announced a change of leadership on Monday. © Michael Gstettenbauer/Imago
He is to be replaced by Friedrich Fuchs on 1 January. She currently manages the business in France, but will move to the board position in Germany from next year. Until then, according to information from Manager Magazin, Härtnagel's former deputy, Jan Bock, will take over responsibility for the business on an interim basis.
Lidl Germany announces change of leadership: Härtnagel started very small at the checkout
As the Handelsblatt reports, Christian Härtnagel worked at the cash register at the beginning of his career. During his time at Lidl, he gained international experience in Ireland and Austria. He later ran Lidl's stores in the UK before taking up his position as head of Germany on March 1, 2022.
Lidl is a subsidiary of the Schwarz Group. It was only there that a change in management at board level was announced on 5 September as of 1 October. This means that several high-level changes are taking place in the company group at the same time.
