Matthew Barnes will take control of Aldi UK and Ireland in March next year, but he may have to share the job with a partner, according to sources in the industry.

With the shockwaves still being felt from the exit of Armin Burger last week just months after he was parachuted in to run the discounter’s UK and Ireland operations on a caretaker basis following the departure of 20-year veteran Paul Foley in August Aldi is taking stock.

Burger’s fellow Aldi Sud international directors, Jürgen Kroll and Norbert Podschlapp, have been tasked with filling in while Barnes is trained up.

Barnes, Aldi’s managing director of buying in Australia, will undergo a rigorous initiation, which involves visiting Aldi’s operations across the world, before taking up his new position from March.

But with Aldi remaining characteristically tight-lipped about its managerial plans, industry insiders also say Aldi is quite likely to promote another internal candidate to run the UK and Ireland business alongside Barnes.

“It is common Aldi practice that when a country gets big enough it has two CEOs who work as a pair,” said one discounter. “It was unusual that [previous MD] Paul Foley had that job on his own. However, if there is another CEO being lined up, they have done a good job keeping it quiet.”

Barnes is regarded as one of Aldi’s leading lights. He was previously a regional director for the north west of England and was in charge of opening a high-profile convenience-style Aldi store in Manchester city centre. In Australia he is thought to have been instrumental in Aldi’s rapid sales growth and developing its first-ever TV advertising campaign.

“He is a great guy and a real force to be reckoned with,” said one industry source. “He is not the type to sit on his hands and will be a great appointment for the UK business.”

Burger’s loss will be seen as a blow to the international business. A senior figure within Aldi, to whom Barnes was expected to report, it is not known why he left. 

Read more
Burger next to exit Aldi (24 November 2009)
Aldi chief refuses to say whether Barnes will be appointed UK MD (24 October 2009)
Aldi begins search for new MD after Foley’s shock exit (15 August 2009)

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