Lidl Supplier Event

Kottbauer was present for Lidl’s first national supplier conference at its Luton distribution centre in October last year

Lidl GB chief trading officer Martin Kottbauer has left the discounter, with his role incorporated into that of chief commercial officer Richard Bourns.

Kottbauer had been at Lidl for 28 years, in a number of senior positions in the UK and other territories.

In 2021, he returned to Lidl GB as chief commercial officer, with his title changing to chief trading officer by the following year.

The streamlining of the chief trading officer role into Bourns’ remit as current chief commercial officer is part of a Lidl GB board restructure which started earlier this year.

“Over the past 28 years Martin has played a pivotal role in Lidl GB’s growth and success, with his wealth of experience and knowledge from working both here and in pan-European roles proving instrumental,” said a Lidl spokeswoman. “We are sincerely grateful to Martin for his contribution and wish him every success.”

In January, the board restructure saw Ferran Figueras move from Lidl Spain to be Lidl GB’s new chief finance officer. Richard Bourns was promoted from Lidl GB senior buying director to his current role as chief commercial officer, replacing Peter de Roos, who assumed the new role of chief customer officer.

Meanwhile, three chief operating officer roles were streamlined into two, with Matt Heslop departing after 20 years with the supermarket.

Lidl has been the fastest-growing bricks & mortar supermarket for 13 months in a row, according to Kantar data. Its sales were up 9.1% year on year in the 12 weeks to 1 September, with its market share climbing from 7.6% to 8%.