Discounter Lidl has appointed a new head of digital to its Germany business, Lebensmittel Zeitung has reported.
Thorsten Reichle previously held the position of head of company developments at Lidl. As part of his new role, he will be in charge of the rollout of the discounter's online shopping platform, which will be rolled out shortly in the Czech Republic, following launches in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Management Structure
Reichle replaces Heiko Hegwein in the role, with the appointment also following the recent departure of Philipp Götting, Lidl's head of digital innovation management, Lebensmittel Zeitung reported.
Götting left Lidl in May, having been instrumental in setting up the Lidl Digital Hub in Berlin.
It's not the only recent management shakeup at Lidl, with chief executive Sven Seidel also departing the Schwarz Group-owned retailer in February, to be replaced by Jesper Hojer.
Pass The Baton
Commenting on the move, Denise Klug of LZ Retailytics said, “Lidl has decided to pass on the digital baton to Thorsten Reichle who – besides overseeing some digital projects in the past – has not really been an e-commerce expert so far.
“Reichle does not need to have a CV filled with former online positions. He is probably not meant to come up with an innovative grocery e-commerce solution or to help the discounter to gear up for the increasing online food retail competition.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
