Marc Lore, CEO, Walmart eCommerce
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
The leader of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business, Marc Lore, is leaving the big-box retailer, according a filing on Friday.
Lore joined the company in 2016 when Walmart acquired the start-up he co-founded, Jet.com, for $3.3 billion. The delivery service shipped groceries and other household items to largely younger, city-dwelling customers.
With the pricey acquisition, the legacy brick-and-mortar retailer sought to jumpstart its digital business and play catch-up to rival Amazon. The deal was seen by investors and analysts, in part, as a way for Walmart to gain the digital savvy of Lore and his team. Lore, a serial entrepreneur, had deep experience in e-commerce and sold his former company, Quidsi, the parent of Diapers.com, to Amazon.
In an 8K filed on Friday, Walmart said Lore notified the company on Thursday that he would retire from his position at the end of January. He will serve as a strategic advisor to Walmart through September, the company said.
In a post on LinkedIn, Lore said he will take time off, but plans to continue working with start-ups.
“Reflecting on the past few years with so much pride – Walmart changed my life and the work we did together will keep changing the lives of customers for years to come,” he wrote.
Since the acquisition, Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business has grown dramatically — even prior to the pandemic. The company reported online sales growth of 37% in the U.S., topping its own internal growth target of 35%. That’s jumped even more as customers limit trips to the store and use curbside pickup during the global health crisis.
Yet some of the initiatives led by Lore faded or failed. Jet.com — the start-up that originally caught Walmart’s attention — was officially wound down in the spring. Jetblack, a membership-based service that allowed customers to order items on demand by sending a text message, became a money-loser that was discontinued before it was scaled.
This story is developing and will be updated.
