The executive who has helped Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) get a bigger share of U.S. e-commerce sales and mitigate the pain of poor in-store sales, is stepping down this month, to be replaced by the executive who has headed the discount retailer’s fast e-commerce growth in Latin America since 2012.
Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Walmart.com in the United States for the past three years, will leave June 20 for a job at another undisclosed company, according to an internal memo sent on Monday to Wal-Mart employees. On Anderson’s watch, U.S. e-commerce sales have soared, while overall comparable sales have declined in recent quarters.
Fernando Madeira, CEO of Walmart’s Latin America e-commerce since 2012, will take over responsibility for the United States in addition to his current duties, amid a move by the retailer to a single platform for all of its e-commerce sites across the planet. Madeira will relocate from Sao Paulo, Brazil to San Bruno, California. Wal-Mart said its Brazilian internet sales are growing at twice the rate of overall e-commerce in that country.
Wal-Mart’s global e-commerce sales crossed the $10 billion threshold last fiscal year for the first time, and the company expects them to reach $13 billion in the current fiscal year, which ends in early February.
At the retailer’s annual meeting last week, CEO Doug McMillon re-iterated how important e-commerce and technology were to the company.
“Our purpose of saving people money will always be relevant, but we’ll do it in new ways,” said McMillon. “We need to be at the forefront of innovation and technology.”