Wal-Mart revamps its team in U.K.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is shuffling its international leadership team in an effort to revitalize its struggling grocery business in the United Kingdom.

The retailer is moving Sean Clarke from his role as chief executive officer of China operations to the same role in the United Kingdom at Asda. He'll replace Andy Clarke, who has been Asda's CEO the past six years.

Sean Clarke begins at Asda on July 11 after spending 15 years abroad with Wal-Mart in China, Japan and Canada. He'll be tasked with improving a segment that reported a 5.7 percent decrease in same-store sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2017 as Asda continues to lose ground in the United Kingdom's competitive grocery market.

"Actively managing our global business portfolio is a key element of our international strategy, and we must have the right talent in place to lead our businesses through times of change," Wal-Mart International CEO David Cheesewright said in a news release Monday.

Cheesewright said earlier this month that Wal-Mart has been "disappointed" in Asda's performance.

The company previously introduced an initiative called "Project Renewal" to simplify operations, reduce costs and improve sales. But sales and traffic, which also declined 5 percent in the first quarter, continued to suffer because of "fierce competition," according to Wal-Mart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs.

Asda was Wal-Mart's only international market to report a drop in sales in the quarter, and it has reported declines for seven straight quarters.

"The U.K. remains a difficult market," Morningstar analyst Ken Perkins said last month. "It's interesting to see because the traffic and sales declines they're seeing are much more pronounced, even in some of their larger competitors there."

Asda, with about 625 stores, is one of the four major grocery chains in the United Kingdom along with Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. Sales also have been affected by the rise of German discount grocers Aldi and Lidl, which Cheesewright described earlier this month as "dangerous" competitors. Last week, Amazon.com said it will get more involved in the United Kingdom by offering its Amazon Fresh service in London.

Clarke will get his chance to guide Asda through the competition.

He began his career at Asda in 1996 and said the business got him "hooked on retail grocery."

"Rejoining Asda at such a critical point in the development of the UK retail market is both a challenge and a privilege," Clarke said in a news release.

Wal-Mart also said Roger Burnley, who was hired away from Sainsbury's last year, will work with Clarke as deputy CEO and chief operating officer when he joins the business in October. Burnley worked for Asda between 1996 and 2002.

"Together with the existing Asda executive team, Sean and Roger will serve as an incredibly powerful team to lead our Asda business," Cheesewright said.

The retailer announced two other changes: Dirk Van De Berghe, the current CEO of Wal-Mart Canada, will take over the leadership role at Wal-Mart China beginning Aug. 22, and will also work as regional president of Wal-Mart Asia. Scott Price, the current CEO of Wal-Mart Asia, will focus on one role as international chief administrative officer.

Business on 06/14/2016

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