Marisa Thalberg, govt vice chairman and chief model and advertising and marketing officer.
Supply: Marisa Thalberg
Lowe’s chief advertising and marketing officer Marisa Thalberg has left the retailer as a part of a broader reorganization, the corporate stated Tuesday.
The house enchancment retailer lower her position and moved its advertising and marketing crew beneath Invoice Boltz, govt vice chairman of merchandising. Thalberg beforehand reported on to CEO Marvin Ellison.
Thalberg’s departure is a part of a rising wave of management adjustments within the retail business. Hole, GameStop and Mattress Tub & Past are among the many different retailers who’ve misplaced C-suite executives. Such shakeups have gained steam as stimulus check-fueled spending wanes and a few shoppers pull again on discretionary purchases due to inflation. For some corporations, significantly main pandemic beneficiaries similar to Peloton, it has meant a sudden and dramatic drop in gross sales.
Lowe’s, too, has seen a slowdown. Its same-store gross sales have declined up to now two quarters. The corporate stated it now expects complete and comparable gross sales for the 12 months towards the underside of its outlook vary. It had forecast gross sales of $97 billion to $99 billion and comparable gross sales to be down 1% to up 1%.
Thalberg stepped into the position in February 2020, a month earlier than the pandemic started and fueled a surge of residence enchancment spending. She oversaw a number of high-profile campaigns, together with TV commercials on ESPN in the course of the NFL Draft, and an expanded effort to capitalize on the vacation season.
Previous to becoming a member of Lowe’s, she was Taco Bell’s world chief model officer and labored for Estee Lauder, Unilever Cosmetics Worldwide and Revlon.
Lowe’s tapped the promoting govt to woo prospects because the retailer overhauled its broader enterprise and went extra head-to-head with bigger rival Residence Depot. Led by Ellison, who joined Lowe’s in 2018, the house enchancment retailer has relaunched its web site, debuted a brand new loyalty program to chase residence professionals’ {dollars} and expanded its merchandise combine to incorporate train gear, pet provides and extra residence decor.
It wished to refresh its picture, too, and tapped Thalberg to supervise that. On the time of her rent, Ellison stated Lowe’s employed her to place a extra trendy spin on Lowe’s advertising and marketing strategy, similar to personalizing messages on social media for patrons as a substitute of counting on conventional channels similar to TV and radio.
Thalberg couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
Lowe’s stated Thalberg’s departure is one among a number of companywide adjustments that took impact Friday. It stated all adjustments are meant “to enhance alignment throughout the enterprise and place Lowe’s for achievement.”
Its enterprise that caters to residence professionals, similar to electricians and contractors, will now be beneath retailer operations. Tony Hurst, a senior vice chairman who oversees Lowe’s professional enterprise, will now report back to Joe McFarland, Lowe’s govt vice chairman of shops. He beforehand reported on to Ellison.
Its on-line crew, which beforehand was beneath Boltz’s management, will now be beneath the know-how crew as a substitute of the merchandising crew. Mike Shady, senior vice chairman of on-line, will report on to Lowe’s chief digital and data officer Seemantini Godbole.
Lowe’s CMO position has not been crammed. As a substitute, Lowe’s has promoted Jen Wilson as senior vice chairman of enterprise model and advertising and marketing, and she’s going to report back to Boltz.
Shares of Lowe’s are down about 25% up to now this 12 months, closing Tuesday at $192.96.
