Wal-Mart in Amazon shake up

A family shops at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Springdale

A family shops at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Springdale

Published Jan 16, 2017

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Seattle - Wal-Mart Stores is overhauling its e-commerce

team and elevating executives from its recently acquired Jet.com business,

aiming to better challenge Amazon.com with more selection and lower

prices.

The changes are meant to make Wal-Mart more “customer-centric,”

Jet founder Marc Lore, who is now CEO of Wal-Mart’s e-commerce operation, said

in a memo Friday that was obtained by Bloomberg. Wal-Mart bought Jet in

September for about $3.3 billion, turning to the startup to bolster an online

operation that has lagged behind Amazon.

“We’ve talked a lot about becoming a more

customer-centric organisation,” Lore said. “Our strategy is about offering more

choice, competitive prices -- particularly on food and consumables -- and

operating on the strength of the world’s most efficient e-commerce supply

chain.”

The company is streamlining its web team so that it can

serve customers whether they shop online, via smartphones or in stores,

according to the memo. Key promotions include naming Scott Hilton to the role

of chief revenue officer, charged with aligning the company’s various online

retail, marketplaces and digital stores. Jeremy King, meanwhile, has been

promoted to US chief technology officer, bringing together Wal-Mart’s retail

and e-commerce technology teams.

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A new incubation and strategic partnerships division will

be led by Seth Beal, who will focus on identifying areas that have the most

growth potential.

Wal-Mart is under increasing pressure as Amazon pushes

deeper into the grocery business. Big-box retailers have traditionally used

food to draw shoppers into stores, with hopes that they buy electronics,

clothing and other goods with higher-profit margins.

But now Amazon may pick off more of those customers. The

online giant is even targeting food-stamp recipients under a pilot program to

begin this summer. Wal-Mart is responding to the threat with its Jet.com Fresh

service, offering delivery of fresh food without a membership fee.

The memo shows that Wal-Mart is looking to match Amazon’s

reputation for being customer-focused. The company will create a new team to

handle customer issues, returns and fraud prevention - a more critical concern

as Wal-Mart relies more on third-party merchants selling on its marketplace.

“We’re on a mission to reshape e-commerce and create a

best-in-class shopping experience that empowers customers to save money in

completely new ways,” Lore said in the memo.

BLOOMBERG

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