Walmart gears up for small format growth
Walmart is set to announce its 2015 growth priorities next week and in a clear sign of an accelerating Neighborhood Market rollout, the retailer has created a new organizational structure made up of seasoned operators and accomplished merchants.
Expectations were already high that Walmart would accelerate Neighborhood Market growth next year and additional confirmation was offered this week when top executive shared details on a new organizational structure designed to support an enterprise much larger than the existing 428 stores that meet Walmart’s definition of small formats.
Walmart EVP and president of small formats Mike Moore did not offer specifics on the number of units to open in 2015 — those details will be disclosed publicly next week — but he did provide details on the recently implemented structure and key leadership moves during the annual Emerging Trends in Retail conference organized by the Center for Retailing Excellence in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.
Moore, who reports to Judith McKenna, Walmart’s chief development officer, said he now oversees a group consisting of five direct reports specifically focused on small formats. Logistics veteran Larry Mahoney serves as SVP of supply chain and Marc Lieberman serves as VP of small formats and has been involved in Walmart’s small format efforts for more than 10 years. Perhaps the most telling indicator of an accelerating rollout is the appointment of Brian Hooper as VP of real estate fully dedicated to small formats. Lea Jepson, who previously held a role in Walmart’s fresh merchandising area, now serves as senior director of merchandising for small formats. Her team consists of approximately 15 to 20 merchants who work closely with Walmart’s larger merchandising organization overseen by chief merchandising officer Duncan Mac Naughton.
From a field operations standpoint, Walmart has divided the country in half. West of the Mississippi River, David Norman serves as SVP of operations and oversees three regions led by regional vice presidents Paul Stone (west), Randy Green (southwest) and Nick Berkeley (Midwest). East of the Mississippi, Glenda Fleming serves as SVP of operations and oversees two regions led by regional vice presidents Paul Lewellen (southeast) and Kaitlin Wolfe (northeast).
Breaking the structure down further, stores are overseen my market managers, commonly referred to as district managers, who are responsible for roughly 15 units. Having a dedicated field operations and market manager structure is a major change for Walmart. Previously, a market manager would have overseen stores in a trading area that consisted of supercenters and Neighborhood Markets. However, high volume supercenters tended to command more attention because of their sales and related challenges.
According to Moore, the dedicated structure has energized the small format team, which is excited about accelerating growth and experimented with new approaches to serving shoppers.
“We are moving and moving with speed in a way we never have before,” Moore said.