New CEO at Lidl US

Author: Osman Cetinkaya
Date: 24.08.2018

Ex-Sweden CEO Johannes Fieber at the top

Johannes Fieber, head of Lidl US, is now pushing ahead with the expansion of the store network after the expansion summer break. Alone in August and September there will be three openings. So the US state Maryland gets its first Lidl branch with a market in the small town Bowie.

Unlike his predecessor Brendan Proctor, Fieber is reserved in the matter of openings and focuses much more on expanding the business. The company sees this as very positive and has great hopes for his capabilities.

Before joining the US division, Fieber successfully led the Swedish business and got to know the company from scratch. The 34-year-old began his career as a packing assistant at Aldi Süd and then completed a dual curriculum in business administration, also at Aldi Süd.

Fieber switched to Lidl ten years ago. He climbed the career ladder remarkably fast. First he became sales manager for the German market, then managing director in Italy for five years and finally he climbed to the Swedish top.

If Fieber manages to get the US business refloated, the doors of the headquarters in Neckarsulm will probably be wide open for him. But the way to get there is still far. In the beginning, the plan was to open 100 stores in the US in the first year. Taking into account the new openings in August and September, a number of only 56 branches will be reached in 15 months.

So the wishes of the management have not been fulfilled. The reasons for this are above all the choice of the wrong locations as well as the mistakes in the selection of the assortment.

Fieber can now prove with his plans for expansion that he is driving the right strategy to successfully establish Lidl in the USA.