Sears Holdings named Alasdair James president and chief member officer for its Kmart business. James will be responsible for driving the Kmart format strategy, managing finances and aligning merchandise, marketing, pricing and selling with the needs of its value-minded customers.
The former Tesco exec will be bringing his extensive experience running multi-site operations within the retail, pharmacy, food manufacturing and packaged goods sectors to his new role. Most recently he served as Tesco’s commercial director for the company’s global business unit. Prior to that, he managed Tesco’s China operations for two years. James has also held leadership roles with GlaxoSmithKline and PepsiCo.
Along with adding more celebrity-driven apparel lines to its mix, Kmart has relied on its Shop Your Way loyalty program to help turn around disappointing sales. Member sales accounted for 74 percent of sales in the first quarter, up from 68 percent the year prior.
Edward Lampert, Sears Holdings chairman and CEO, said, “Alasdair will work closely with me and our business unit leaders to understand the preferences of Shop Your Way members who shop at Kmart.” He added, “He will be responsible for the Kmart strategy, its performance and its continued transformation as an integrated retail format.”