Lidl boss Christian Härtnagel: Supply chain issues making Christmas ‘much more work’

While Härtnagel said the discounter’s supply chain is in “a much better place” than it was in the summer, it’s “still nowhere near where we want to be” and his staff are having to work harder than ever before to keep shelves stocked ahead of Christmas. 

“We’re in a much better position now than we were two or three months ago. So the situation has eased off. We’ve overcome systemic issues like the C02 shortage that lead to empty water aisles. And we’re now just dealing with different issues every single day,” he said. 

“What I really can say is maintaining the availability on the level that it is right now just takes much more work than it has done in the past. We will be able to deliver a great Christmas for our customers. There is a little bit of rationalising ranges, but we’re talking about a flavour less here, a flavour less there. No systematic minor disruptions that we foresee. But to deliver this, our teams are working extremely hard.”

Härtnagel blamed the woes on a number of factors, from the Covid-19 pandemic and corresponding ‘pingdemic’ over the summer, through to a continued lack of staff and Brexit. 

“This is the perfect storm,” he says. “It’s something in my career at least I’ve never seen. But it’s easing. It’s easing because everyone in the industry is really giving it everything.”

In its results for the year to February 28, 2021, published today, Lidl GB flagged further future disruptions to its UK supply chain due to Brexit. 

“So it’s going to be more complex to import goods into this country than it was pre-Brexit. That’s a fact,” he said on Brexit’s effects on retail moving forwards. “So the number one mitigation to lower that risk is something that we have done, increased significantly over the last couple of years - which is buying British.

“But obviously a reality also is that a mozzarella, a parma ham, a pineapple, an orange, a banana, these things will always have to be imported. And yes, this is more complex than it was pre-Brexit.”

Lidl GB ‘exploring online opportunities’

To coincide with its published results, Lidl GB today unveiled a new store target of 1,100 by 2025. 

While the discounter continues to be “laser-focused” on bricks and mortar retailing, according to Härtnagel, the discounter is open to a possible future move into some form of online offer in the UK.

“We are of course exploring online opportunities, we’re looking at the market, we’re looking at systems and partnerships that are being used in other European markets,” he said. 

When pressed on what opportunities Lidl GB was exploring, he said: “We’re looking at everything. Maybe rapid delivery surely is the last thing we should look at as a discount retailer. But all that it will be important for is great customer service, the lowest prices and a sustainable model that we can operate in a profitable way.”