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Ex-Walmart exec Fleming joins Jingit board

8/2/2012

Online shopper engagement firm Jingit named former Walmart head merchant John Fleming to their board of advisors this week and offered a view of his career and accomplishments at Walmart that isn’t likely to jive with the recollection of suppliers.



“John pioneered countless initiatives throughout his stellar career at Walmart that took that brand to new heights in the market,” Jingit co-founder Joe Rogness said of Fleming.



He added that Fleming is a true visionary retail executive that embodied everything Jingit was looking for in a new addition to its board of advisors.



Fleming held the chief merchandising officer role during a dark period in Walmart’s recent history. As the force behind the company ill-fated sku-rationalization effort and desire to create a fast, clean and friendly store experience, Fleming shouldered responsibility for a two year string of negative same store sales from which the company recovered in the fourth quarter of last year. He left Walmart several years ago amid leadership transition that saw former COO Bill Simon elevated to the role of CEO of the stores division and the appointment of former Walmart Canada head merchant Duncan Mac Naughton to the position of chief merchandising officer.



Prior to his head merchant role, Fleming also served as Walmart’s chief marketing officer and prior to that was CEO of the company’s online unit. Fleming spent nearly two decades at Target in various merchandising positions in company’s department store division.



Two-year-old Jingit, based in Minneapolis, claims to be forever changing the relationship between brands and their customers by giving consumers instant cash for engaging with their favorite brands online or in stores. Jingit provides an engagement platform and mobile app it says delivers a practical solution to consumers' frustrations with marketing,

while satiating their growing appetite for discounts, deals and offers from brands.



Rogness contends the company’s business model is revolutionary because it rewards customers with cash, not points or other incentives he described as a meaningless way to deliver brand engagement.



“More than any other retail executive I’ve met, John has an incredible skill for knowing what consumers want and how brands need to anticipate and respond,” Rogness said. “He's already made a strong impact at Jingit and I look forward to his ongoing contributions to build our market presence.”



According to Fleming, “Every retailer wants to identify a way to better engage with customers through to the point of transaction and beyond. But for most organizations, creating that kind of ongoing brand loyalty can be elusive.”

Fleming added that from his first conversation with the Jingit leadership team, he believed they had a unique approach for solving some of brand marketing’s biggest challenges.



“I’m excited to work with Jingit to scale their early success within the marketplace and see their platform and model become an integral strategy for building brand engagement,” Fleming said.





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