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BUSINESS
Walmart

Walmart taps experts for inventory in battle with Amazon

Charisse Jones
USA TODAY
Nathan Adrian, who will help oversee the swimming category for Walmart, wins the Mens 100 LC Meter Freestyle final during the Arena Pro Swim Series Mesa on Thursday, April 13, 2017 at Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa, Ariz. (Via OlyDrop)

Walmart and other retailers are going for the gold against online giant Amazon by tapping experts to make sure they are stocking the best merchandise.

The world's largest retailer is only the latest to drill down into categories by hiring hundreds of "category specialists" to sort through its offerings. For swimming, for example, Walmart just named Nathan Adrian, an American who won gold in the 2012 Olympic Games and bronze last year, to offer advice on everything from swim caps to goggles.

Adrian comes aboard at a time when Walmart has been aggressively buying up niche websites that specialize in shoes, outdoor gear, and other products to corner the market on specific segments of the online shopping public.

“We want to be that place where the shopper can find anything that they need,’’ says Scott Hilton, chief revenue officer for Walmart U.S. eCommerce, “and that means we need to have specialty experience in every single shopping category.’’

Several retailers have taken steps to boost their expertise at a time when many store chains are struggling to woo shoppers amid increased competition from Amazon and other online sellers:

•Target. The mass merchandiser found its own group of experts -- children between the ages of 7 and 14 -- to help shape its Art Class clothing collection, which debuted in January and was tailored to the 86 million teens and 'tweens who comprise Generation Z.

•Toys R Us. The toy-selling giant, in revamping its website, will soon feature pages that not only sell car seats and strollers, but will educate new parents about which model or style best fits their needs.

Lowe’s. The nation's second-largest home improvement chain purchased online furniture and knick-knack seller ATG Stores in 2011.

Walmart says that it will be hiring hundreds of specialists over the next two months in categories ranging from fishing gear to shoes. They will not only help select items, but have a say in the way that they are priced and displayed online.

“The first step is all about the basics,’’ Adrian said in a statement. “I plan to review and expand the products we offer to make sure we have the right items for every type of swimmer, from the toddler learning how to swim . .. to the high school competitive swimmer needing a suit and equipment for training and meets.”

To a big-box store chain like Walmart, which sells millions of products ranging from pants to peanut butter, depth of expertise is critical to make the best choices about what to offer in more specialized categories, Hilton says.

The company has been on its own buying spree in recent months, starting with the purchase of online marketplace Jet, for $3 billion in August, which, in turn, bought footwear site ShoeBuy. Two months later, Walmart purchased Moosejaw, an online outdoor gear and clothing retailer. And in March, Walmart bought ModCloth, an online seller of women’s clothing and accessories that targets customers looking for full sizes.

The sites maintained their same management teams, who were also put in charge of their particular product for Walmart's entire e-commerce network. Mike Sorabella, for instance, ShoeBuy's CEO, oversees footwear for all Walmart-owned sites.

"They’re the experts,'' Hilton says. "They have all the brand relationships, so they’re managing footwear across the enterprise . . . This is the way we’re really accelerating that deeper knowledge in those specialty categories.''

Bringing in outsiders who understand a market niche could be a smart move, says Neil Saunders, managing director of retail analysis firm, Global Data.

"People brought in often have a good external perspective which helps them to identify opportunities that those more involved in the business may not be able to do,'' he says. "Market and customer knowledge are often better which helps decision making around issues like styling and marketing.''

Farla Efros, president of the retail strategic firm HRC Retail Advisory, says that purchasing other sites is a strategic way for a traditional retailer like Walmart to strengthen its online operations. But a chain can specialize in only so many categories.

"Retailers need to differentiate and pick their spots . .  . given the picky consumer,'' Efros says, "but you cannot be experts in everything and they need to pick spots and do so with strong conviction.''

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