He may be the new kid on the block, but Lidl UK’s boss Christian Härtnagel is proving he’s ready to mix it with his more experienced rivals.

The 34-year-old has quietly gone about his business in the nine months since succeeding Ronny Gottschlich as the discounter’s boss, but broke his silence with a bombshell.

Lidl, which has already shaken up the British grocery sector alongside great rival Aldi, will pile further pressure onto the established order by doubling its store roll-out plan.

Härtnagel unveiled his aim to open “at least one shop a week”, compared to the 30 stores it launched last year.

Despite Tesco and Morrisons in particular building momentum as the big four bid to fight back, Härtnagel bullishly told The Telegraph: “That is the fastest we have ever grown in the UK.”

Big four: beware.

Elsewhere today, Evans Cycles new boss Andy King gave us his first interview since taking charge, Clarks has made changes at the top of its overseas operations and we look ahead to Amazon Prime Day, which kicks off at 6pm.

Quote of the day

“Make no mistake, Prime Day isn’t really about the discounts. This is a brazen effort to tempt new shoppers into Amazon’s sticky ecosystem.”

Natalie Berg, global research director at Planet Retail, has her say on the real reason Amazon hosts its Prime Day event

Today in numbers

58%

The slump in EBITDA suffered by Evans Cycles in the year to October 31.

5

The number of stores shuttered by the administrators of Topshop’s Australian franchise as they bid to rescue the business.

Tomorrow’s agenda

All eyes will be on Marks & Spencer’s first quarter results as the City seeks signs of recovery under its new boss Steve Rowe.

Luke Tugby, head of content

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