News Briefs

Walmart did not waste any time in filling a critical role in its C-suite.

The retail giant named company veteran Latriece Watkins as executive VP, chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S. She succeeds Charles Redfield, who stepped down from the role (as of May 1), but is continuing in an advisory role. 

According to Walmart’s web site, Watkins joined the company 24 years ago. She has served in a variety of key leadership roles within Walmart U.S. merchandising, human resources and store operations. Most recently, she was the executive VP of the Walmart U.S. consumables division.

Watkins steps into her new role as the retail giant and other retailers are challenged by a weak sales environment as consumers cut back on discretionary spending. In February, Walmart offered weak guidance for the year ahead.

“Because she has worked in so many different areas of the business, Latriece brings a 360-degree approach to her leadership, all while keeping customers at the center,” the company said on its website.

Sephora U.S. is getting a new chief marketer whose resume includes eight years at Google.

The beauty powerhouse has appointed Zena Srivatsa Arnold as its new chief marketing officer, effective early this summer. She succeeds Deborah Yee, who held the role for nearly eight years, until December and is still with Sephora as global chief purpose officer.  (Sephora is owned by global retail conglomerate LVMH.)

Srivatsa Arnold joins Sephora’s U.S. division as it is being led by a new CEO. Guillaume Motte took the reins of the company in January 2023. He previously served as deputy CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group, and was CEO and president of Sephora’s Europe and Middle East division.  (Sephora is owned by fashion conglomerate LVMH.

Most recently Srivatsa Arnold served as  senior VP, carbonated soft drinks at PepsiCo. Prior to that, from 2020 to 2022, she was chief digital and marketing officer at Kimberly-Clark.

Before Kimberly- Clark, Srivatsa Arnold spent seven years at Google, including serving as global head of growth, ChromeOS.   She also held senior leadership roles at Kellogg Company and Procter & Gamble. 

In March, Sephora teamed up with with TikTok and digital marketing agency Digitas to roll out the Sephora x TikTok Incubator Program. The initiative connect TikTok creators with select beauty brands with the goal of helping them learn social content strategies through a series of educational training modules.

The chief executive of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings has been given an additional title.

The membership warehouse club retailer’s board of directors has appointed BJ’s president and CEO Bob Eddy as chairman, effective June 15, 2023. He will succeed Chris Baldwin, who will remain on the company’s board as a director.

Eddy, who has served on the board since 2021, joined BJ’s in 2007. He was named executive VP and CFO in 2011 and served as executive VP chief financial and administrative officer from 2018 to April 2021, when he was appointed president and CEO, succeeding Lee Delaney who passed away unexpectedly.

Prior to joining Eddy served retail and consumer products companies as a member of the audit and business advisory practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Boston and San Francisco.

In March, BJ’s announced the addition of five new clubs to its 2023 expansion plans, including its first-ever location in Alabama, increasing BJ’s footprint to 20 states.

“We have observed Bob’s clear passion for the company in the boardroom as well as through the successful execution of our long-term vision,” said Rob Steele, the board’s lead independent director. “We believe that Bob’s role as chairman and chief executive officer will further strengthen the collaborative relationship between management and the board, balanced with appropriate oversight embodied in our independent directors and in my role as lead independent director.”

Headquartered in Marlborough, Mass., BJ’s operates 237 clubs and 167 BJ’s Gas locations in 18 states.

U.S. consumers can now track their food orders directly through Alexa Echo devices.

Uber Technologies said that U.S. consumers can now use their Amazon Echo devices to track the status of Uber Eats orders. The new integration provides real-time, hands-free order tracking for Echo users across the country.

Alexa can give consumers timely updates on critical points in the delivery process — starting when an order is being prepared through to when the driver is arriving and when the order is delivered.

Consumers can decide how to receive updates. They can choose, for example, to have Alexa announce when there's a status change to their order from one or all of their household devices.  Or they can choose to receive an Alexa notification instead — the light on their Echo device will change to yellow, and consumers can ask, "Alexa, what's my notification.”

“Simple ambient experiences let customers be more present with family and friends — they don't need to be distracted by checking for delivery updates on their mobile apps," said Mark Yoshitake, general manager and director of Alexa Skills. "Now, customers can settle in for their favorite movie and trust Alexa to let them know when their driver is approaching with their order, or update them if there is a material change to the estimated delivery time. It's yet another example of how Alexa is helping make customers' lives easier."

Amazon is Uber's third partner in the voice-activated space, after announcing partnerships with Google Assistant and Apple's Siri for voice ordering integrations within the last year.

Brookshire Grocery Co. is using a new cloud-based point-of-sale system to integrate its in-store technology solutions.

The Tyler, Texas-based supermarket company is implementing the NCR Emerald cloud-based POS solution, which connects to the company’s store operations platform, NCR Commerce (NCP). The solution, which is currently live in one store, is rolling out across all of Brookshire’s 206 locations.

Designed to unify all technology needed to run the store, NCP will streamline workflows and improve consumer experiences across all of Brookshire’s sales channels. Further, the solution will enable the grocer to bring innovation to market faster and at a lower cost. For example, POS and self-checkout upgrades and changes to loyalty programs and payments that often took long periods of time to build, test and roll out can now be achieved much quicker, according to a company statement.

“Brookshire places a priority on customer service, and we’re looking for ways to leverage technology to improve the experience for our customers,” said Shawn Sedate, CIO of Brookshire Grocery Co. “By simplifying and standardizing our store infrastructure, we’ll have more time to focus on customer needs and create offers that keep shoppers coming back.”

Brookshire Grocery Co. operates the Brookshire’s, Super 1 Foods, FRESH by Brookshire’s, Spring Market and Reasor’s banners, along with three distribution centers throughout Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Weis Markets will lead the retail contingent at Delaware’s Bayberry Town Center, signing for a 64,000-sq.-ft. space that will hold a supermarket and fuel facility.

The planned 280,000-sq.-ft. town center will be the retail center of The Village of Bayberry, a 1,500-acre master-planned community in Middletown. Construction begins later this year on the project that will include some 2,700 homes surrounded by 600 acres of parks, playgrounds, lakes, and luxury clubhouses.

Weis has been a long-standing brand in the Mid-Atlantic region with nearly 200 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, and Virginia. Scheduled to open in 2025, the Bayberry store will be its fourth Delaware location.

Bayberry Town Center will be the largest grocery-anchored center in Middletown, according to Blenheim Group, its developer. The town center will also include upscale shopping, restaurants, services, banking, and healthcare.

Middletown is located about 20 miles south of Wilmington and 30 miles east of Baltimore.

“The Town Center is the final phase in our multi-year development of The Village of Bayberry,” said  Jay Sonecha, president of Blenheim Group, which is based the United Kingdom. "Located in one of Delaware's fastest-growing residential areas, Bayberry Town Center will give local residents a new first-class grocery option.”

Sonecha added that other new tenants would be announced in the coming months.