M RahmanStakeholders of Lidl (Stakeholder Analysis)
This is a detailed assessment of the stakeholders of Lidl (Stakeholder Analysis). Lidl is a German supermarket chain with thousands of stores in several countries. It is very well known as a discounter; however, it does not necessary mean that it sells poor quality products. In fact, many people think that the retailer’s products are of good quality that can be purchased with affordable prices.
Who are the stakeholders of Lidl?
There are many stakeholders of Lidl. Different people have different interests in the company. For the purpose of analysis, this article divides them into two broad groups i.e. internal stakeholders and external stakeholders.
Internal stakeholders of Lidl
The main internal stakeholders of Lidl are the CEO and key executive team, employees, owner/s, and shareholders. Lidl’ key executive team includes the President and CEO, Chief Commercial Officer, Executive Vice President, Regional Vice President, Purchasing Director – Import and Customs, Chief Information Officer, and Director of Procurement.
Lidl’s owner is the Schwarz Group which is considered the biggest European retailer. The company is owned by German businessman Dieter Schwarz who is one of the richest men in the world, and very famous for maintaining a secretive lifestyle (Harper, 2021). The owner and the executive team have huge interests in the company, and they are very powerful as well.
Every year, Lidl hires many people from different walks of life. It has a training and development program that ensures that the employees are trained in quality customer service. Employees are considered one united team of talented, and hardworking people, whose energy and commitment makes it what Lidl is (Lidl, 2022). However, some employees expressed their frustrations in different public domains concerning work overload, and working without breaks sometimes.
External stakeholders of Lidl
The main external stakeholders of Lidl are the competitors, customers, suppliers, local communities, pressure groups, and governments. Lidl’s main competitors in the UK are Aldi, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Co-Op. It competes with several global brands in the USA e.g. Wal-Mart, Amazon Fresh, H-E-B, and Target. It must keep an eye on these competitors virtually all the time to monitor their actions.
Lidl works with many suppliers in Germany for its private label brands. In the UK, a good number of British and Scottish suppliers supply it with its permanent range products. Good relationship with suppliers is very important for any retailer. Lidl’s rapport with the suppliers is considered very good and transparent.
Lidl is dedicated to serving local communities. For example, it has become a charity partner with NSPCC Northern Ireland to raise funds to help ensure the charity reaches children across Northern Ireland with crucial services. Likewise, it donates a huge amount of surplus food which otherwise would have been wasted (Lidl, 2022).
Customers are the most important stakeholders of Lidl. Therefore, Lidl is absolutely committed to addressing their needs and desires at all times and providing them with an excellent shopping experience. However, many customers complaint that many stores do not have enough customer service assistants to address their queries.
Pressure groups can sometimes have impacts on Lidl. Likewise, Lidl needs to adhere to the law of the land as any breach may incur penalties from both the local and the central governments.
We hope you like this ‘stakeholders of Lidl (Stakeholder Analysis)’. You may also like SWOT analysis of Lidl. If you have liked this write-up, please share it with others. Other relevant articles for you are:
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Last update: 09 March 2022
References:
Harper, C. (2021) Billionaire Lidl owner lives in pure secrecy and is known as a ‘phantom’, available at: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/billionaire-lidl-owner-lives-pure-20830208 (accessed 08 March 2022)
Lidl (2022) About Lidl, available at: https://careers.lidl.co.uk/life-at-lidl/about-lidl (accessed 09 March 2022)
Author: M Rahman
M Rahman writes extensively online and offline with an emphasis on business management, marketing, and tourism. He is a lecturer in Management and Marketing. He holds an MSc in Tourism & Hospitality from the University of Sunderland. Also, graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University with a BA in Business & Management Studies and completed a DTLLS (Diploma in Teaching in the Life-Long Learning Sector) from London South Bank University.
