Walmart logo is seen at a store in Mountain View, California, United States on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.
Yichuan Cao | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Walmart has named Jamie Iannone its chief operating officer for U.S. e-commerce, after the Sam’s Club executive helped oversee digital initiatives for the retailer’s membership-based subsidiary.
In a company memo sent Friday, Walmart announced Iannone’s new role and credited him for helping to grow the membership and online sales of Sam’s Club.
Iannone will report to Marc Lore and John Furner. Lore is CEO of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business and founder of Jet.com, which Walmart acquired in 2016. Furner is CEO of Walmart U.S. He was previously CEO of Sam’s Club.
Iannone’s new role was first reported by Bloomberg.
Iannone, who has been with Sam’s Club for six years, previously was chief executive of SamsClub.com and executive vice president of membership and technology. He is switching roles as Walmart seeks to grow its acquired and incubated digital brands and turn e-commerce into a profitable business. Its e-commerce business has largely been fueled by online grocery orders, but it’s looking to build upon that momentum with expanded sales of apparel and other general merchandise.
The memo said Iannone will help Walmart “build an even stronger online business that seamlessly integrates across all teams and channels.” He will oversee e-commerce groups, including Walmart’s marketplace of third-party vendors, its tech incubator Store. No. 8 and start-ups it has acquired.
Sam’s Club has been a test ground for new digital initiatives. It launched a service called Scan & Go that allows shoppers to skip the line and check out through a smartphone app instead. It has another app, called “Ask Sam,” that helps employees find an item or answer customers’ questions more quickly.
Walmart announced other changes to its e-commerce business this week. The company is combining its two teams of buyers for stores and for online, a move that it said would unify the teams’ mission and better serve customers. It also launched Walmart Fulfillment Services, which allows third-party vendors to pay the company to store, pack and ship items to customers.