US retail giant Walmart has named Simon Belsham as the new president of its e-commerce unit, Jet.com, succeeding Liza Landsman.
Reuters reports that the appointment was announced to staff on Monday, with Belsham set to oversee all grocery and general merchandise operations at Jet, and joining Walmart's US e-commerce leadership team.
Belsham previously worked at Tesco for seven years, expanding the online business of the UK's largest retailer.
He also worked for online grocery specialist Ocado, and, most recently, he was the chief executive of online marketplace NotontheHighStreet.com.
Belsham confirmed the news on Twitter, describing his new role as an 'incredible opportunity'.
There are times in your life when things come along that just feel so right. I’m excited to announce that I’m joining the Wal-Mart ecommerce leadership team as President of @jet. Amazing team and an incredible opportunity. Purple is definitely my new favourite colour 💜 pic.twitter.com/SWlaGVETAt
— Simon Belsham (@sibelsham) March 27, 2018
Online Growth
Walmart has been focusing on expanding its online business over the past few years, as competition with Amazon heats up.
The retailer acquired Jet.com in August 2016 for $3.3 billion, and its founder, Marc Lore, became head of Walmart's e-commerce business in the US.
Results have been mixed, however. Online sales stumbled over the Christmas period, while Lore's investments in the e-commerce business dented profitability and sent shares falling.
In spite of this setback, the retailer remains keen to push growth in this area. Earlier this month, Walmart announced that it is expanding its home-delivery services to more than 100 metropolitan areas this year, making it available to over 40% of US households by the end of 2018.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
