Watkins gained the position after helping Walmart elevate its shelves for a premium shopping experience.
Walmart has appointed a long-time executive to oversee its Sam’s Club division, making way for the Black woman to shine as CEO.
Three years later, she has taken on her biggest role yet as CEO of Sam’s Club. The membership club is the more exclusive shopping option for Walmart loyalists, offering bulk options for families with bigger budgets and, often, more mouths to feed.
Given her experience implementing higher-end items to Walmart’s inventory, and thus enticing higher-earning shoppers, Watkins will get the chance to further prove her expertise as an official CEO. Her work now aims to make Sam Club’s a sharper competitor to the popular Costco.
With membership-based stores having similar business models, Walmart and Watkins hope to cut into Costco’s sales by driving up Sam’s Club’s own private-label brands. Its mainstay brand, Member’s Mark, still accounts for a third of Sam’s Club’s revenue. However, given the success Watkins saw with the introduction of Walmart’s Bettergoods private-label, her mission seeks to further promote Member’s Mark to shoppers.
Despite the marginal figures, Watkins’ promotion adds a Black women to the executive office. As she assumes the new role, she will curate another elevated shopper experience for the retail giant, leading the way for other large chains.
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Source: Black Enterprise
