?Lidl's chief departs over "unbridgeable" differences

By Erin Smith

Published: 21 March, 2014

The head of Lidl, the German-based discount supermarket and the third largest retail chain in Europe, has left following "unbridgeable" differences.

Karl-Heinz Holland, who worked at the company for more than 23 years, had "differing views concerning the future strategy of the business".

Holland had been on the board of the Lidl, which is owned by the Schwarz Gruppe, for 12 years and had been at the head of the company for five. He took over in 2009 following a scandal at the supermarket, in which the company allegedly was spying on workers.

The discount grocer has 10,000 stores across Europe and employs 180,000 people. It operates in 20 countries and the Schwarz Gruppe also owns Handelshof and Kaufland.

The head of buying and marketing Dawid Jaschok will also be leaving.

Lidl had a reported turnover of 67.6 billion euros for the 2012/2013 year and is owned by Germany's third- richest mans Dieter Schwarz, the son of Josef Schwarz the founder of the company. The company has been performing week with 16.5% growth last year, according to recent reports.

The supermarket chain has been stealing market share in the UK, along with fellow competitor Aldi, by squeezing other major retailers such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrison.

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