Tensions rise at Walmart as online business faces major losses
Walmart is projecting losses of more than $1 billion for its US e-commerce division this year, on revenue of between $21 billion and $22 billion.
According to a report by Recode, CEO Doug McMillion and Walmart’s board of directors are applying increased pressure on Marc Lore (pictured above) and his online business to cut losses. Lore, you will remember, founded shopping site Jet.com, which Walmart purchased for an eye watering $3.3 billion in 2016.
“They are perturbed by the credit Lore’s division gets in the media and on Wall Street for the success of Walmart’s growing online grocery business,” Recode writes. “While this strained dynamic inside the retailer is not unheard of for a well-established company attempting to navigate big, technological disruption, the stakes are huge and the company cannot afford the delays that typically result from infighting.”
Walmart did not respond to our request for comment.