Yoox Snags Walmart’s eCommerce Tech Director

Italian online retailer Yoox, which focuses on high-end fashion, named a former Walmart eCommerce executive as its first chief information officer, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (July 2).

Alex Alexander joined Yoox last month after having spent three years in the position of multichannel technology director for big box retailer Walmart’s global eCommerce group, which is known as @WalmartLabs. WSJ reported that during his tenure at Walmart, Alexander helped design and then launch an omnichannel strategy for Asda Stores. Asda is a Walmart subsidiary that is based in the United Kingdom.

WSJ reported that Alexander helped oversee the development of Walmart’s global technology platforms, and additional responsibilities were tied to leading groups responsible for Walmart’s “click-and-collect” operations. Before Alexander came to Walmart, the executive served as a senior IT director for Barclays’ retail banking unit, focusing on omnichannel systems.

Yoox said in a statement that Alexander will have oversight of all of the retailer’s technology functions. Alexander “will leverage his superior expertise in delivering omnichannel capabilities and large-scale technology transformations supporting multibillion Euro online sales, as well as managing and growing globally based teams,” the company said in its release.

WSJ said Yoox’s appointment of Alexander to the technology post comes as the retailer “prepares to join forces” via a merger with website Net-a-Porter, which is also focused on high-end fashion. The merger, according to WSJ, comes as the companies seek to boost visibility in high-end luxury and, as a combined entity, compete against larger retailers and eCommerce companies, including Amazon and Alibaba.

The merger, according to WSJ, will branch out into luxury products and brick-and-mortar luxury retailers to bring more revenue from online sales. The combined company, to be known as Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, will sport a combined annual revenue of more than $1.4 billion.

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