Sam’s Club is restructuring its product-purchasing team, marking the second big shake-up for the Walmart unit this month.
A spokeswoman said the warehouse club retailer will consolidate what had been six buying roles into three: merchant, senior merchant and divisional merchandise manager. The reshuffle, effective February 3, will not result in a loss of jobs.
The idea is to give experienced employees a chance to select the most successful products, said spokeswoman Carrie McKnight.
“The best item and category merchants have deep expertise built over time,” she said in an email. “So we simplified our structure to give merchants the freedom to build a career while becoming experts in their category.”
Revamping Retail
The move comes less than two weeks after Sam’s closed 63 locations following a review of operations at the chain, which competes against Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Club.
Its parent company also is revamping its organisation and cutting jobs, part of Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon’s efforts to streamline the business and better compete with Amazon and other rivals.
Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, often makes big moves in January, the final month in its fiscal year.
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