Walmart plans to shutter Store No. 8, a business unit focused on innovation, reports The Wall Street Journal. The division was named after the store in Arkansas where Walmart founder Sam Walton originally tested new ideas.
The unit launched seven years ago as it worked to catch up to Amazon’s ecommerce business.
“We’ve graduated capabilities from this operating approach that are now fully embedded in our organization,” said Walmart CFO John David Rainey in a staff memo. Over the past seven years, nearly all employees in the unit moved on to other internal jobs, he said. “The responsibility to shape the future of retail is now shared by all segments.”
For example, Walmart offering online delivery into customers’ homes and shopping over text messaging were both made possible through Store No. 8 tests, said Rainey. Many of the ideas from the unit were either adopted into the larger company or shut down.
The news comes as the hypermarket works to reduce business expenses as a result of decreases in consumer spending, according to the report. Full Story (Subscription Required)
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