Tony Rogers to lead Walmart marketing

Walmart has recalled marketing executive Tony Rogers from his post in China to lead the retailer’s domestic marketing efforts.

Rogers spent the past two years in China serving as chief marketing officer of Walmart’s operations there. He will assume his new responsibilities as U.S. chief marketing officer in mid-January, Walmart said in a statement on Dec. 18. He fills a position currently held by Stephen Quinn who is leaving the company after 11 years.

The transition from Quinn to Rogers is seen by some as signaling a new era in Walmart marketing because it takes places at the same time as former Target CMO Michael Francis joins the company in a consulting role. The extent of any changes resulting from the personnel moves could be muted by one important consideration. Walmart is more focused that ever on its positioning as a every day low price retailer along with expense control, a combination that means it views marketing very differently than more promotionally oriented retailers and spends far less on advertising as a percentage of sales that almost all of its competitors.

Another thing to consider with Rogers appointment is that he is a Quinn disciple. Quinn joined Walmart in 2005 after previously serving as CMO of Pepsico’s Frito-Lay division. Not long after that he began to infuse the ranks of Walmart marketing department with a contingent of former co-workers occasionally referred to as the “Frito Five” because of their shared history. Rogers was among that group and the noteworthy change that occurred at the time was Walmart modernized its marketing. Quinn, Rogers and others began implementing practices that were common in the CPG world such as customer segmentation and shopper insights but were considered pretty dramatic given Walmart’s previously unsophisticated approach to marketing.

Another executive who joined Walmart after Quinn’s arrival was former Frito-Lay marketer Stephen Bratspies. He and Rogers worked closely together for many years under Quinn’s tutelage, at Pepsico and Walmart. While Rogers remained in marketing roles at Walmart before heading to China two years ago, Bratspies’ career took a different turn. He was transitioned to a senior role in merchandising and earlier this year was named Walmart’s chief merchandising officer.

Heading into 2016, Walmart’s efforts to drive sales are spearheaded by two executives highly familiar with one another and the world of consumer packaged goods. Both men report directly to Walmart U.S. President and CEO Greg Foran.