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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Duncan Mac Naughton has been promoted to chief merchandising officer for Walmart’s U.S. stores.
With the move, Mac Naughton will now oversee all product categories across the discount store giant’s more than 3,700 stores.
Mac Naughton’s promotion follows the appointment of Mark Larsen as vice president of home and apparel planning, pricing and modular strategies.
Larsen’s new responsibilities include financial planning, pricing and modular strategies, and leading the home and apparel support teams, which include modular development, preseason planning in New York City, in-season planning and pricing. He had been vice president of health and wellness.
“We are fortunate to have outstanding, seasoned leadership across our merchant organization. Duncan has distinguished himself with a proven record of success in every organization that he has worked in, including Walmart in the United States and Canada,” Walmart U.S. president and chief executive Bill Simon says.
“He is a strong steward of our culture, and he understands that merchandising is at the very core of our business,” Simon adds. “Duncan is committed to giving our customers a breadth of assortment, national brands and everyday low prices.”
Mac Naughton vows to concentrate on the priorities that have made Walmart the world’s largest retailer. “We remain focused on ensuring that our assortment exceeds our customers’ expectations, both in stores and online,” he says. “While much has been accomplished, we are working closely with our suppliers to deliver the products and the brands our customers are looking for at Walmart’s everyday low prices.
“Our team is more committed than ever to our mission of saving people money so they can live better,” Mac Naughton says. “We intend to make the shopping experience more fun for our customers through increasing promotional intensity by effectively utilizing Action Alley [price specials]. In the end, it is about having great products at everyday low prices.”
Mac Naughton joined the company in 2009 as chief merchandising officer for Walmart Canada. Last October he was named executive vice president of merchandising for Walmart U.S., with responsibility for consumables, health and wellness, and Walmart.com.
Before joining Walmart, Mac Naughton held leadership roles at Kraft Foods Inc., H.E. Butt Grocery Co. and Albertsons Inc. He also served as executive vice president of merchandising and marketing at Supervalu Inc.
Larsen joined Walmart in 1997 as an electronics buyer. He progressed through the merchandising organization and was promoted to vice president and divisional merchandise manager for home furnishings. In 2002 he was promoted to vice president and divisional merchandise manager for photo, wireless and electronics.
In 2005 he became a vice president and regional general manager for Walmart store operations. He has also served as general merchandise manager for men’s, children’s and infants, as well as vice president of merchandising systems transformation. He joined the health and wellness division in March 2009.
