Switzerland: Denner reverses course on Lidl strategy
Discount Retail Chain Denner, a Migros-owned discounter, presented another high-profile departure occurred this week. Head of Marketing Raphael Werner (42) is stepping down after just two years. It happened abruptly: Werner made his departure public on his own initiative without mentioning a new position. Surprisingly, just the week before, Werner received the industry's highest honor: "Best Marketing Officer of the Year."
Further Departures Coming
hat's not all: another senior figure in marketing will be leaving Denner. "The Marketing/Digital department is being realigned," a Denner spokesperson confirmed.
Adding fuel to the fire, CEO Torsten Friedrich (49) resigned at the end of April after just over a year at Denner's helm following a clash with parent company Migros. He reportedly wanted to inject too much of Lidl into the discounter, which did not sit well with headquarters at Limmatplatz. At the same time, Friedrich was stripped of purchasing power when supplier negotiations and assortment procurement were centralized at Migros. In the end, the leash proved too short for Friedrich.
Christian Staub (46), Head of Sales, managed to stay for three years. He also has a background at Lidl and announced his departure from Denner in June. Head of Procurement Sascha Göbels (51) had already left the discounter in 2025.
Less Lidl, More Migros Alignment
Surprisingly little of Lidl suddenly remains in Denner—despite the discounter raiding the staff shelves of its competitor from Weinfelden (Thurgau) not so long ago. Denner rejects this connection: "Personnel decisions are made on a factual and objective basis; former employers play no role."
Industry insiders who asked not to be named told Blick that the recent departures bear the hallmark of Migros management under CEO Mario Irminger (61), who is taking the discounter back under his wing. Furthermore, it is hardly surprising that former Lidl colleagues of the ex-CEO no longer have a future at Denner.
Denner is currently undergoing a restructuring—not only refreshing its store network, but also redefining its strategic direction. To this end, a Head of Transformation was brought onto Denner's executive board in June. Fitting the pattern: Michel Gruber (49), currently interim CEO of Denner, will apparently be allowed to take on the post permanently. An official announcement from the Migros universe is still pending, with a spokesperson stating the company will share details at an appropriate time.
What's Next?
Where do things go from here? What does Migros ultimately plan to do with the discounter and its partner stores, which together comprise a network of nearly 900 locations across Switzerland? After all, the Migros subsidiary accounts for nearly 4 billion Swiss francs in revenue. However, sales are stagnating and profits are reportedly declining.
Back to Denner's Roots
Denner needs to get "back to the roots," says a former executive board member. Acting "like in the old days" would mean viewing itself as a true competitor to Migros, Aldi, and Lidl—and acting accordingly. Rebuilding its profile with low prices, devising clever advertising coups, and angling for price-sensitive customers who also buy cigarettes and alcohol. Above all, fighting for customers against greedy brand-name manufacturers by taking matters back into its own hands—including parallel imports from the gray market.
However, not everything initiated by former Denner boss Friedrich and his close ally, former Marketing Chief Werner, is being thrown overboard. Werner was responsible for promotions, customer analytics, and digital business, among other things. Plans to expand the Denner app with self-scanning features and loyalty programs will reportedly continue, though these innovations are not scheduled until 2027. New CEO Gruber will also continue driving process optimizations in logistics and store inventory management that were initiated by Friedrich.
For now, however, the HR department is in highest demand. The chief position in Denner's HR is vacant, as is the sales leadership post. "Recruitment processes to fill the vacancies are already underway," Denner stated. It remains to be seen whether Migros CEO Irminger still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
#smartdiscount #denner #switzerland #roots #restructuring #organisation #hr #management #lidl #migros #drc #discount #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #consulting #twitter #google #harddiscount #hd
Comments