BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart U.S. has appointed Steve Bratspies to chief merchandising officer for U.S. stores, effective Oct. 19, 2015. Bratspies will oversee all merchandise categories across more than 4,500 stores in the U.S. business. He will continue to report to Greg Foran, Walmart U.S. president and CEO.
"Steve is a true leader and an example of the rich talent that exists within the merchandise organization,” said Foran. “His outstanding merchandising instincts and commitment to innovation and price leadership will challenge the status quo to serve our customers better.”
“Walmart is known for its world-class merchandising organization,” said Bratspies. "From the buyers and replenishment managers to our merchandise operations experts, it’s a dedicated team with a commitment to serving customers that I’m honored to lead.”
Bratspies continued: "Going forward, we’ll continue our relentless focus on our customers – we’ll move with speed and conviction to ‘super-serve’ the millions who shop Walmart. We will stay true to our mission by strengthening our commitment to everyday low prices, optimizing our assortment and winning at omni-channel retailing through strong partnerships with suppliers and a continued investment in our associates.”
Most recently, Bratspies served as the executive vice president of food for Walmart U.S. where he overhauled the retailer’s grocery aisles with a focus on improving its fresh offering and expanding its private brand and global sourcing capabilities. Bratspies joined the company in 2005 and has held several leadership positions at Walmart in marketing, dry grocery and general merchandise. In 2011 he received the Merchandise Excellence Business Unit Leader of the Year award for his focus on local assortment, innovation and price leadership. Prior to joining Walmart, Bratspies served as chief marketing officer for Specialty Brands. He has held roles in finance, new ventures and marketing at Frito-Lay, and consulting positions with A.T. Kearney and Andersen Consulting.
The company also announced additional leadership changes, including the appointment of Charles Redfield to executive vice president of food for Walmart U.S. Redfield joined Sam’s Club in 1988 as a cashier and moved up the ranks to serve in several operational and merchandising leadership roles, including chief merchandising officer at Asda. Most recently, Redfield served as executive vice president of merchandising at Sam’s Club.
In addition, John Furner will serve as executive vice president, merchandising for Sam’s Club. Furner was serving as chief merchandising and marketing officer at Walmart China, driving significant improvements in buying leverage and reducing organizational complexity resulting in improved profitability and price leadership.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, we serve nearly 260 million customers who visit our 11,532 stores under 65 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 revenue of $486 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
Source: Walmart
