Front and Center
Walmartville, USA
Games like Tycoon City, MineCraft and SimCity just don’t cut it for this guy… Marc Lore, the head of Walmart eCommerce US, has announced that he is leaving Walmart at the end of January to start a “city of the future” built on a “reformed version of capitalism.”
The vision statement for the project reads: “Imagine a city with the vibrancy, diversity and culture of New York City combined with the efficiency, safety and innovation of Tokyo and the sustainability, governance, and social services of Sweden. This will be our New City.” Nobody tell this guy about Disney world…
So what will it look like?
For starters, each road leading into the city will be stationed with a senior citizen in a blue vest greeting you as you drive in… kidding. Details about the city have not yet been released, but Marc has promised that more information will be released over the coming months.
“This is going to be a lifelong project,” Marc says. “It’s the thing I’m most passionate about.” He plans to write a book and create a TV show to cover his city-building escapades. You can watch him describe his vision in the full interview here.
Who is future mayor Marc Lore?
Marc Lore is a serial entrepreneur that most famously founded Jet.com, a major competitor to Amazon, who then sold it to Walmart for $3 billion USD cash in 2016. He and his executive team arrived at Walmart with inside knowledge of Amazon, having previously sold his company Quidsi, a collection of online shopping sites best known for Diapers.com, to Amazon for around $550 million in 2011.
Since joining, Walmart eCommerce has seen tremendous growth, and Walmart.com became the second biggest ecomm site after Amazon in the US, quickly shedding its past reputation as an ancient relic in the new digital age of commerce.
Is this bad news for Walmart?
No. Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon announced to the company that Marc will remain a partner and advisor for the company.
Back of the Packet
Inauguration
Aaaaaand they’re off! Our 46th President Joe Biden and our 49th VP Kamala Harris didn’t waste any time on their first day in office. President Biden signed at least 17 executive directives on things like COVID-19, the economy, climate change, and racial inequality.
Notably, Biden rejoined the Paris climate deal, while disallowing the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. He also placed a mask mandate on all federal property, and issued to Americans a challenge… not to dump ice water on your heads or inhale a spoonful of cinnamon, but instead to mask up for 100 days. Sounds do-able.
As for the inauguration ceremony, Lada Gaga with such beauty and grace kicked off the 2021 Hunger Games.
At the same time, Bernie kicked off a global fashion craze. Our professional advice for the fashion and accessory industry is that people will be going gaga over giant brooches and earth-tone plaid print gloves.
Vaccine Stipend
A growing number of grocers are offering their employees paid incentives to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
This week, Aldi announced to employees that they would receive compensation for getting vaccinated, two hours of pay for each of the two vaccine doses and that they would be paid their hourly wage on top of that. Not a bad deal.
Aldi joins the ranks of Trader Joe’s, Dollar General, Instacart, and others that are incentivizing their employees to get the vaccine.
“Providing accommodations so employees can receive this critical vaccine is one more way we can support them and eliminate the need to choose between earning their wages and protecting their well-being,” said Jason Hart, CEO of Aldi U.S.
ShipHero News
We’ve Invented the Wheel
It’s no secret that today’s world of ecommerce is changing rapidly. Third party logistics (3PL) and fulfillment providers that don’t find a way to keep up with, if not surpass, the pace of growth during this ecommerce boom is at serious risk of getting left behind.
That’s why we invented The Fulfillment Innovation Wheel: a list of twelve capabilities and service offerings that 3PLs need to implement in order to be successful, as well as the capabilities and service offerings that retailers and brands should look for when partnering with a 3PL.
Stay tuned as we break down each of the twelve capabilities, starting with Designed for Returns.
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