Lidl restructures purchasing to become more price aggressive

Now that a recession is looming as a result of the corona virus outbreak, discount chain Lidl wants to sharpen its price image. The retailer has decided to rearrange its international purchasing department.

New orders

Lidl is to become more price aggressive, including a stronger focus on its digital loyalty card Lidl Plus and on special offers: according to Lebensmittel Zeitung, these are the management’s recent orders. As a recession looms as a result of the corona pandemic, the retailer wants to be well prepared. A prime target is its purchasing department.

German purchasing director Jan Bock will now take up an international position within the group and will concentrate mainly on purchasing in Belgium, Czechia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovakia. Bock was a very visible figure at Lidl Germany, as one of the driving forces behind the upgrading of the product range at the discounter, and has promoted topics such as animal welfare and fair trade. Recently, he took the initiative to publish the names of private label suppliers of Lidl.

His arrival gives international sourcing director food Christoph Pohl more time to focus on private labels, fruits and vegetables and the supply chain – issues that are vital to sharpen the retailer’s price positioning. He will also remain responsible for the UK division, which faces major supply chain challenges as a result of the brexit. In Germany, Dominika Kubisch will be the new purchasing director.