By Shelly Banjo
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s chief merchandising officer is expected
to announce his departure from the retailer just days before the
annual Thanksgiving shopping frenzy known as Black Friday, people
familiar with the matter said.
Duncan Mac Naughton joined Wal-Mart in 2009 as chief
merchandising officer of Wal-Mart Canada and moved over to the
merchandising operations at the U.S. business in 2010.
The chief merchant plays a key role at any store chain, deciding
on retailing strategy and choosing which products to promote to
drive sales. Along with the rest of Wal-Mart's U.S., division, Mr.
Mac Naughton has struggled to boost sales during two straight years
of declining shopper traffic. In the quarter ended Oct. 31, the
retailer posted its first sales increase since 2012, with a 0.5%
gain excluding newly opened or closed stores.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman declined to comment. Mr. Mac Naughton
didn't answer a request for comment.
The executive, who has worked in the retail and the consumer
packaged goods industries for more than 25 years, was considered a
potential successor to lead Wal-Mart's U.S. business when U.S. CEO
Bill Simon announced his resignation in July, according to people
familiar with the matter. The U.S. division has more than 4,300
stores and last year brought in $279 billion in sales.
But Mr. Mac Naughton was passed over for the job in favor of
Greg Foran, a New Zealander who had been running Wal-Mart's Asia
division. Mr. Foran was appointed to the top job in July. Earlier
this week, the company changed the reporting structure of the
marketing division so the chief marketing officer would report
directly to Mr. Foran, rather than to Mr. Mac Naughton, the people
said.
This holiday season, Wal-Mart launched more than a week of deals
ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday to encourage consumers to shop
early and spend their dollars with the retailer.
Write to Shelly Banjo at shelly.banjo@wsj.com
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