RWRetailWire
Back to Discussions
DISCUSSION

Merchandising chief leaving Walmart

Written by George Anderson

The management changes keep coming at Walmart. The latest, announced right before the chain heads into the critical holiday selling season, is that Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer at the company, is leaving to pursue other opportunities.

Mr. Mac Naugthon's departure follows former Walmart U.S. president and CEO Bill Simon's in July. It was once thought Mr. Mac Naughton might succeed Mr. Simon, but that notion was quashed when Walmart Stores CEO Doug McMillon chose Greg Foran, a 35-year retail industry veteran who had been running the company's business in China since 2012, to lead the U.S. business.

According to reports, Mr. Foran has decided not to hire an executive to replace Mr. Mac Naughton. Instead he plans to have executives in key areas such as apparel, general merchandise and grocery report to him directly. Mr. Foran, according to the report, is looking to take a more active approach when it comes to merchandising.

Walmart also announced an executive switch within its U.S. grocery operations. Jack Sinclair, who has headed up Walmart's grocery organization, is being moved to another role within the company and being replaced by Steve Bratspies, who ran Walmart's general merchandise division.

Mr. Sinclair appears to be the victim of the chain's struggles to improve its grocery performance. While Walmart is the largest grocer in the U.S., it has experienced problems, particularly in fresh foods. An unhappy manager, reportedly frustrated with a lack of staff at one of the company's stores, recently leaked an "urgent agenda memo" to The New York Times. The memo instructed managers to discount meat and baked goods nearing their expiration dates, as well as to remove expired items and place new stock in the backs of coolers.

After seven straight quarters of declining same-store sales, Walmart recently reported a gain, 0.5 percent, despite lower customer traffic numbers. The holiday selling season is seen as particularly critical for the company, which led by Mr. Mac Naughton, made the decision to move away from the one-day events used in the past to five-day events this year.

"Black Friday is no longer about waking up at the crack of dawn to stand in long lines and hope for the best. At Walmart, it has become a family shopping tradition where everyone shops at some point throughout the weekend," Mr. Mac Naughton said recently.

Discussion Thread0