Walmart faces new challenges: unexpectedly announces that the CEO who has been at the helm for over a decade will step down during a critical period

On Friday, the 14th, Eastern Time, Walmart, the world's largest retailer, announced a surprising decision: CEO Doug McMillon, who has led the company for over a decade, will step down at the end of January next year. This move comes as the company faces multiple challenges, including tariff impacts, weak consumer demand, and the disruption of the retail industry by AI technology. This personnel change caught the market off guard.

Affected by this news, Walmart's stock opened lower on Friday, hitting an intraday low of about 3.6% shortly after the market opened. The decline then continued to narrow, and by midday, the intraday drop was less than 1%, but it will still close down for two consecutive days, marking a new closing low for the week.

In the regulatory filing submitted by Walmart, it stated that McMillon will leave on January 31, and John Furner, the current CEO of Walmart U.S. operations, will take over the position on February 1, becoming the fifth CEO since founder Sam Walton. McMillon will continue to serve as a company advisor until January 2027.

During McMillon's tenure, Walmart's total stock return soared over 400%, with a market value increase of $576 billion and annual revenue surpassing $680 billion. Analysts believe that changing leaders while the company's performance is at a high level presents both opportunities and challenges for the successor.

Company Chairman Greg Penner stated in a statement that Furner is "the right person to lead Walmart into a new chapter of growth and transformation." In a letter to employees, Furner thanked McMillon for his contributions but emphasized that he is currently focused on leading the U.S. business through the holiday sales season.

CEO Transition Timeline Confirmed

Walmart's submitted documents show that McMillon expressed his intention to retire to the board on Tuesday, and the board promptly voted on Thursday to appoint Furner as the new CEO. McMillon will officially step down on January 31, after the end of the company's fiscal year, and will remain on the board until next spring.

This personnel change announcement comes just six days before Walmart is set to release its quarterly earnings report. As of Thursday's close, Walmart's stock has risen 13% this year, benefiting from growth in digital business and increased appeal to high-income shoppers.

Despite being a long-serving CEO, rumors of McMillon's retirement have surfaced intermittently over the years. According to a Wall Street Journal report in 2023, he planned to stay for another three years, but the company has not recently hinted that a CEO transition is imminent.

Furner Takes the Helm: The Rise of a Walmart Veteran

Furner has served as CEO of Walmart U.S. operations since 2019, managing over 4,600 stores and the company's largest business segment. He joined Walmart in 1993 as an hourly worker and has since held various leadership positions in areas such as merchandise procurement, operations, and supply chain His father was also an executive at Walmart.

In a letter to employees, McMillon wrote that Furner's experience gives him a unique combination: care for employees and a keen sense of innovation. He stated that this balance and belief in the company's values will help Furner "lead our employees through a new retail era driven by innovation and AI with vision and experience."

Similar to McMillon, Furner also attended the University of Arkansas, deeply immersing himself in Walmart's culture and maintaining a close relationship with the founder Sam Walton's family. The Walton family holds two board seats and a significant equity stake. However, according to insiders, unlike McMillon's gentle management style, Furner is known for a tougher leadership approach, actively embracing new technologies and ideas, which sometimes sparks internal controversy.

Furner has held executive positions at Walmart China and its subsidiary Sam's Club, experiences that have provided him with a diversified business perspective.

Transformation Achievements of the McMillon Era

59-year-old McMillon took over as CEO in February 2014, at a time when Walmart was in trouble: sales stagnated, management questioned its ability to sustain growth, employee dissatisfaction was high, and store management was chaotic. At that time, Walmart also faced fierce competition from online retailers like Amazon, and the future of the hypermarket format was uncertain.

After taking office, McMillon formulated a strategy to raise hourly wages and increase investments in store and digital transformation to fend off the impact of Amazon. In 2016, he led the completion of Walmart's $3.3 billion acquisition of the e-commerce startup Jet.com and appointed its founder Marc Lore to oversee U.S. e-commerce operations. Walmart's e-commerce sales then took off, although many e-commerce projects from that period ultimately closed, including Jet.com itself.

During his tenure, McMillon strengthened Walmart's e-commerce capabilities, but more importantly, he recognized the need for a solid core of U.S. retail business. He doubled down on improving customer service in Walmart stores and raised employee wages to enhance the shopping experience. This successfully attracted more high-income customers during the inflation surge in 2022. He also recognized the potential of Sam's Club in preventing Costco from eroding market share.

As a company veteran, McMillon is also aware of which businesses are not effective. He divested non-core assets, such as selling a majority stake in the UK business Asda. In recent years, he launched membership programs similar to Amazon Prime, Walmart+, and a retail media business that allows suppliers and sellers to purchase advertising space, enhancing profitability. He also placed AI at the core of future strategies.

Despite some missteps, such as the mountain of unsold inventory three years ago, Walmart recovered faster than its competitor Target, which faced similar issues. McMillon wrote in a letter to employees, "Sometimes some people doubt us; these people underestimate how much you care and underestimate your ability to change."

The Severe Test Facing the New Leader

Furner takes over a company that is moving at full speed, but this is not always a comfortable succession position. Walmart's core customers are under pressure from tariff-driven inflation and government shutdowns. When they have to pay more for essentials, they may cut back on purchases, especially of non-essential items with higher profit margins, such as clothing and home goods.

At the same time, other threats loom. While McMillon has positioned Walmart as a strong challenger to Amazon, the battle between the two is far from over. Last August, Amazon announced a massive expansion of its grocery delivery business, a move that could strike at Walmart's core. The rise of AI technology is also set to disrupt shopping in a way reminiscent of the internet two decades ago.

McMillon has laid the groundwork for this technological race; last month, Walmart announced that consumers could directly purchase Walmart products through OpenAI's ChatGPT. This is a good first step, but Furner must avoid repeating the mistakes of Walmart's early e-commerce development.

Beyond technological advancements, there is a more traditional threat that cannot be ignored: the German discount retailer Aldi is expanding in the United States. The company already has about 2,500 stores and aims to open 3,200 by 2028. Even as Furner looks to the prospects of AI, he cannot overlook this formidable competitor.

In a recent interview, McMillon stated that Walmart now pays wages above the industry average for retail competitors, no longer close to the bottom, and offers more benefits. However, the company still faces criticism from politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders, who argue that Walmart has failed to adequately share profits with hourly workers through compensation and benefits.

Last month, McMillon mentioned that the search bar has long been the way consumers browse and purchase online, "and that is about to change." He also stated that AI "will literally change every job." For this reason, Walmart recently hired a head of AI acceleration.

As the leader of U.S. operations, Furner should be aware of all these issues. But as McMillon understood during his transformation of Walmart, the old saying goes: "Retail is detail." As Walmart prepares for another major transformation, his successor must also adhere to this principle.

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