Walmart U.S. Appoints Steve Bratspies to Chief Merchandising Officer

09 Oct 2015, 10:05 AM CDT

New leaders for food at Walmart U.S. and merchandising at Sam’s Club
announced

BENTONVILLE, Ark.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Walmart U.S. has appointed Steve Bratspies to chief merchandising
officer for U.S. stores, effective Oct. 19, 2015. Bratspies will oversee
all merchandise categories across more than 4,500 stores in the U.S.
business. He will continue to report to Greg Foran, Walmart U.S.
president and CEO.

“Steve is a true leader and an example of the rich talent that exists
within the merchandise organization,” said Foran. “His outstanding
merchandising instincts and commitment to innovation and price
leadership will challenge the status quo to serve our customers better.”

“Walmart is known for its world-class merchandising organization,” said
Bratspies. “From the buyers and replenishment managers to our
merchandise operations experts, it’s a dedicated team with a commitment
to serving customers that I’m honored to lead.”

Bratspies continued: “Going forward, we’ll continue our relentless focus
on our customers – we’ll move with speed and conviction to ‘super-serve’
the millions who shop Walmart. We will stay true to our mission by
strengthening our commitment to everyday low prices, optimizing our
assortment and winning at omni-channel retailing through strong
partnerships with suppliers and a continued investment in our
associates.”

Most recently, Bratspies served as the executive vice president of food
for Walmart U.S. where he overhauled the retailer’s grocery aisles with
a focus on improving its fresh offering and expanding its private brand
and global sourcing capabilities. Bratspies joined the company in 2005
and has held several leadership positions at Walmart in marketing, dry
grocery and general merchandise. In 2011 he received the Merchandise
Excellence Business Unit Leader of the Year award for his focus on local
assortment, innovation and price leadership. Prior to joining Walmart,
Bratspies served as chief marketing officer for Specialty Brands. He has
held roles in finance, new ventures and marketing at Frito-Lay, and
consulting positions with A.T. Kearney and Andersen Consulting.

The company also announced additional leadership changes, including the
appointment of Charles Redfield to executive vice president of food for
Walmart U.S. Redfield joined Sam’s Club in 1988 as a cashier and moved
up the ranks to serve in several operational and merchandising
leadership roles, including chief merchandising officer at Asda. Most
recently, Redfield served as executive vice president of merchandising
at Sam’s Club.

In addition, John Furner will serve as executive vice president,
merchandising for Sam’s Club. Furner was serving as chief merchandising
and marketing officer at Walmart China, driving significant improvements
in buying leverage and reducing organizational complexity resulting in
improved profitability and price leadership.

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save
money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online,
and through their mobile devices. Each week, we serve nearly 260 million
customers who visit our 11,532 stores under 65 banners in 28 countries
and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 revenue
of $486 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates
worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate
philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about
Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com
on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart
and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com
and http://www.samsclub.com.