April 23, 2007
Former Penney Boss Joins Wal-Mart Board
Allen Questrom knows something about putting the life into a lagging retailing banner. He demonstrated his skill in that area while running J.C. Penney. Before that he led Barney’s back to solvency following that chain’s declaration of bankruptcy. Going even further back, Mr. Questrom steered Federated out of bankruptcy proceedings and engineered Federated’s strategic acquisition of RH Macy & Co. in 1995.
What’s next for Mr. Questrom? As it turns out, it may be Wal-Mart. The 40+ year retailing veteran has been nominated to join Wal-Mart’s board of directors, making Mr. Questrom the first former retailer to have been extended that invitation since 1993.
Patricia Edwards, a money manager at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich, told Bloomberg News, “For an embattled company and management, I would think this would be seen as a bit of a coup.”
Discussion Question: What is your reaction to Allen Questrom joining Wal-Mart’s board of directors?
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The addition of the former Penney CEO, with his expertise in soft goods, is a smart strategic move, and his views, I am sure, will be supported by Jack Shewmaker, a longtime board member who was vice chairman of Wal-Mart before he took early retirement. Those two experienced retailers can provide leadership to get WMT moving ahead aggressively once again.
Me thinketh that Wal-Mart now believes it needs some additional outside input on how to keep their massive tanks rolling over competition. Allen Questrom has prescribed well for previous ill giants and should supply more ammunition for the Wal-Mart blitzkrieg.
Questrom, with this depth of experience and background, could have a major impact on Wal-Mart. I think that they are at the point where they are looking for some fresh approaches to the problems they are facing and have made a wise choice.
Some people may be concerned that his voice may get drowned out. I do not feel this will be a problem. If there was one thing that has made Wal-Mart as strong as it is has been the ability to learn from others and then get better at execution than the companies they learned from.
The real question is whether the Wal-Mart board will follow Allen Questrom’s lead or whether his influence will be diluted so much that his participation won’t be impactful. He’s proven his abilities twice before.
On the one hand, Allen Questrom has proven ability to facilitate change in retail organizations by creating focus on a specific position. Certainly he brings the right skills to perform that job at Wal-Mart.
On the other hand, does Wal-Mart want a new position or is it trying to reinvigorate its traditional position? Do the board and Allen agree upon the position?
Allen Questrom has great credibility from his careers at Federated and J.C. Penney. His effort to turn around the fortunes of Penney in particular have given its current management team a good springboard for building momentum. He can help Wal-Mart manage through many issues where it has lost its way or feels besieged by bad publicity…and can help the company build on its many strengths, too. However, for Mr. Questrom to bring the most value to his position, Wal-Mart’s management will need to be more open, less entrenched and insular than they are known to be.
There are several reasons why Mr. Questrom’s appointment to the Wal-Mart Board makes sense. First, he has a wealth of retail experience from a leadership perspective. That is a valuable commodity on any board. Second, as Wal-Mart looks to move some of its product lines upscale (a relative term, upscale from where they are today), Wal-Mart could use some strategic insight from a leader who has experience with that more upscale market. Third, Mr. Questrom is a well-respected individual who will add further credibility to Wal-Mart’s Board. He can provide guidance on issues where Wal-Mart’s image has been or could be damaged. Selecting board members is a delicate matter. Ultimately, boards look for a helpful skill mix combined with a personality that meshes with the existing board members and management. Mr. Questrom’s addition to the Wal-Mart Board has tremendous potential.
Allen Questrom brings more than just an outsider’s perspective on retailing. He brings a career of expertise in more fashion and soft lines oriented retailers. The greatest value he can add is helping Wal-Mart build on their core competencies of efficiency, scale and value to provide home and apparel lines and marketing that make shoppers feel good about wearing and decorating with Wal-Mart products.
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The addition of the former Penney CEO, with his expertise in soft goods, is a smart strategic move, and his views, I am sure, will be supported by Jack Shewmaker, a longtime board member who was vice chairman of Wal-Mart before he took early retirement. Those two experienced retailers can provide leadership to get WMT moving ahead aggressively once again.
Me thinketh that Wal-Mart now believes it needs some additional outside input on how to keep their massive tanks rolling over competition. Allen Questrom has prescribed well for previous ill giants and should supply more ammunition for the Wal-Mart blitzkrieg.
Questrom, with this depth of experience and background, could have a major impact on Wal-Mart. I think that they are at the point where they are looking for some fresh approaches to the problems they are facing and have made a wise choice.
Some people may be concerned that his voice may get drowned out. I do not feel this will be a problem. If there was one thing that has made Wal-Mart as strong as it is has been the ability to learn from others and then get better at execution than the companies they learned from.
The real question is whether the Wal-Mart board will follow Allen Questrom’s lead or whether his influence will be diluted so much that his participation won’t be impactful. He’s proven his abilities twice before.
On the one hand, Allen Questrom has proven ability to facilitate change in retail organizations by creating focus on a specific position. Certainly he brings the right skills to perform that job at Wal-Mart.
On the other hand, does Wal-Mart want a new position or is it trying to reinvigorate its traditional position? Do the board and Allen agree upon the position?
Allen Questrom has great credibility from his careers at Federated and J.C. Penney. His effort to turn around the fortunes of Penney in particular have given its current management team a good springboard for building momentum. He can help Wal-Mart manage through many issues where it has lost its way or feels besieged by bad publicity…and can help the company build on its many strengths, too. However, for Mr. Questrom to bring the most value to his position, Wal-Mart’s management will need to be more open, less entrenched and insular than they are known to be.
There are several reasons why Mr. Questrom’s appointment to the Wal-Mart Board makes sense. First, he has a wealth of retail experience from a leadership perspective. That is a valuable commodity on any board. Second, as Wal-Mart looks to move some of its product lines upscale (a relative term, upscale from where they are today), Wal-Mart could use some strategic insight from a leader who has experience with that more upscale market. Third, Mr. Questrom is a well-respected individual who will add further credibility to Wal-Mart’s Board. He can provide guidance on issues where Wal-Mart’s image has been or could be damaged. Selecting board members is a delicate matter. Ultimately, boards look for a helpful skill mix combined with a personality that meshes with the existing board members and management. Mr. Questrom’s addition to the Wal-Mart Board has tremendous potential.
Allen Questrom brings more than just an outsider’s perspective on retailing. He brings a career of expertise in more fashion and soft lines oriented retailers. The greatest value he can add is helping Wal-Mart build on their core competencies of efficiency, scale and value to provide home and apparel lines and marketing that make shoppers feel good about wearing and decorating with Wal-Mart products.