Northern Ireland's fastest-growing supermarket, Lidl, appoints a new top man

Northern Ireland's fastest-growing supermarket, Lidl has appointed a new top man.

Ivan Ryan has taken over as regional managing director from Conor Boyle, who has taken on a new position as chief executive of Lidl Finland.

Ivan joined Lidl in 2007 and has worked across many areas of the business both locally and internationally. Prior to his appointment on August 1, he was senior director of IT and chief information officer at Lidl Ireland. He has also held senior positions in HR, operations and finance in the business.

A spokesperson for Lidl NI confirmed: "Ivan, who joined Lidl in 2007 and has worked across many areas of the business both locally and internationally, joins Northern Ireland’s fastest-growing supermarket retailer at an exciting time as it prepares to mark 25 years of growth and success in the region.”

Lidl contributes around £180 million a year to the Northern Ireland economy and sustains around 3,500 jobs.

Last year, Lidl Northern Ireland ploughed a record £347 million into the agri-food industry here in the last financial year ending February 2022 and supported 60 local producers to success, according to its most recent Impact Report.

Almost £300m worth of goods procured locally were exported globally through Lidl’s expansive store network, reaching new customer bases across Europe from Britain and Ireland as far as Romania, Greece, Cyprus and even to the USA.

It employs more than 1,500 staff across its 41-strong store network and regional distribution centre in Nutts Corner.

Retail analysts Kantar recently confirmed that the retailer had a 9.1% share of the market – the strongest growth among all retailers – with sales up a quarter on the year and new shopper numbers up 4.6%.