Walmart U.S Chief Merchant Departs
There’s another major job opening in retailing.
Walmart Inc. U.S. chief merchandising officer Charles Redfield is stepping down after only over a year in the role, the mass retailer disclosed Friday.
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On Friday, Walmart U.S. chief executive officer John Furner issued a memo to Walmart associates indicating that Redfield will vacate the chief merchant job but will take on an advisory role supporting the U.S. business starting May 1. Furner wrote that Redfield wanted to spend more time with his family.
“There are merchants, and then there’s our chief merchandising officer Charles Redfield. I could probably stop there and many associates across our businesses and the retail industry would know exactly what I mean,” Furner wrote in the memo.
The 55-year-old Redfield is a 32-year veteran of Walmart. He started as a cashier at Sam’s Club while attending college at the University of Arkansas. Furner wrote that Redfield began his full-time career as an assistant manager with Sam’s Club and progressed to leadership roles within Sam’s Club operations and merchandising. In 2010, he was named chief merchandising officer for Asda, Walmart’s U.K. subsidiary where he brought “renewed simplicity, clarity, and purpose to the U.K. merchant team, and played an integral role in the price leadership and quality step-change experienced by U.K. customers,” Furner wrote.
Redfield returned to the U.S. in 2012 as executive vice president of merchandising for Sam’s Club, and three years later became executive vice president of food for Walmart U.S., and subsequently was promoted to his current role as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S.
Furner credited Redfield with recently working with suppliers to lower prices. Inflation has been pressuring Walmart’s business, though initiatives to keep prices down have helped maintain the Walmart promise to provide strong value. “Whether they’re shopping online or in stores, his focus has been ensuring customers can always find the items they need and want at the lowest possible prices. Especially as inflation started skyrocketing, Charles and team have worked hard with suppliers to lower prices and give value to customers when they’ve needed it most,” Furner wrote.
A successor to Redfield was not named. Walmart often promotes executives from within its ranks and has a history of cross-pollinating executives between operational sides of the business and merchant-related positions, and between domestic and international, thereby grooming talented executives for possible bigger roles.
However, within the merchant ranks one possible candidate that Walmart would consider is Denise Incandela, executive vice president of apparel and private brands for Walmart U.S., though it would be a leap into broader merchandise responsibilities for her. Incandela is responsible for leading Walmart’s apparel business in stores and online, all general merchandise private brands, and Walmart’s apparel retailers/d-to-c’s.
Earlier this week, Walmart sold its Bonobos men’s brand to brand management firm WHP Global and Express Inc. for $75 million, which was a steep discount to the $310 million Walmart shelled out for the brand in 2017.
Other key insider merchants and senior leaders at Walmart U.S. include John Laney, executive vice president, food; Julie Barber, executive vice president, general merchandising; Jon Alferness, chief product officer, and Latriece Watkins, executive vice president, consumables. Megan Crozier serves as executive vice president and chief merchant at Sam’s Club.
In the fourth quarter, comparable sales at Walmart U.S. grew 8.3 percent from a year earlier and 13.9 percent from two years ago, with e-commerce up 17 percent and 18 percent, respectively. Food sales saw an increase in the high teens, gains that were offset by midsingle-digit declines in general merchandising sales, with softness seen in toys, electronics, home and apparel. Net income increased 76.2 percent to $6.3 billion, or $2.32 a diluted share, from $3.6 billion, or $1.28, a year ago. But the gross profit rate declined 83 basis points from a year ago, due to markdowns and the mix of goods sold. Food yields lower margins than other categories.
However, Walmart has tempered its outlook, and has projected revenues rising by 2.5 percent to 3 percent this year — a big step back from the 6 percent average of the past five years and growth last year of 6.7 percent.
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