Brian Sozzi Negative On New Wal-Mart Appointment (WMT)

Brian Sozzi of Wall Street Strategies is out with a research report on Wal-Mart WMT, after the company announced that Duncan MacNaughton will become the position of EVP and Chief Merchandise Officer of the U.S. operation. In the note, Sozzi writes, "We would have viewed more favorably fresh eyes on a business that has not been working as well it should be, a shakeup of sorts from the status quo of aggressively promoting food and consumables while willing to lose share in margin enhancing departments. Instead, today's announcement quoted Mr. MacNaughton as saying “we intend to make the shopping experience more fun for our customers through increasing promotional intensity by effectively utilizing action alley.” Note “action alley” was proven to be a strategy dwindling in effectiveness, hence the former head of Wal-Mart U.S. Eduardo Castro Wright sought to minimize its store presence during Project Impact. The announcement comes at a good time (start of the fiscal year), but there is certainly a lack of sizzle to the appointment." Shares of Wal-Mart are down 86 cents today to trade at $56.71, a loss of 1.5%.