Can A New CEO Help Turn Around ContextLogic?

Shares of a popular retail trader stock have been hit hard over the last year. With a transformation underway, could a new CEO help breathe life back into shares?

What Happened: E-commerce company ContextLogic Inc WISH announced a new CEO on Monday.

Vijay Talwar joined the company as the new CEO and a member of the board of directors effective Feb. 1, 2022.

Talwar previously served as the CEO of Foot Locker Inc FL's Europe, Middle East & Africa business. While at Foot Locker, Talwar was credited with helping boost the omnichannel retail business and helping the Foot Locker Digital business as the fastest growing and most profitable of the company’s business segments.

As the CEO of Wish, Talwar will be responsible for leading a turnaround plan focusing on improving user and merchant experiences. Talwar will also oversee new long-term growth plans for the business, according to the company.

“Wish has all the ingredients to be a true leader in the e-commerce space – a great product, an engaging and entertainment-driven social platform, a strong user base and a world-class team that highly motivated to deliver on the turnaround plan,” Talwar said.

Related Link: Wish Plummets On Q2 Earnings, Here's Why Traders Are Saying Yikes

Why It’s Important: ContextLogic announced during its third-quarter earnings release that its founder and CEO Piotr Szulczewski was stepping down from the CEO role.

Szulczewski will continue to serve as a member of the board. 

Talwar joins with a background in e-commerce and helping lead growth of a shift to digital for a major retailer. Prior to Foot Locker, Talwar held various senior executive roles with online jewelry company Blue Nile Inc and also worked at Nike Inc NKE.

“I am eager to apply my own experience within the retail and e-commerce space to further refine our focus and put the business back onto a path of growth,” Talwar said. “I firmly believe the best years for Wish are right ahead of us.”

Wish reported third-quarter revenue of $368 million, which was down 39% year-over-year. Investors want to see the company turn back to growth after several recent quarterly reports of weaker revenue.

The company exceeded its bottom line expectations in the third quarter due to being “more efficient and having reduced advertising spending.

What's Next: ContextLogic is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings in March, which could be the first time Talwar will share the areas in which he sees opportunities. Investors will eagerly await to hear how he could add to the existing turnaround plan.

Wish has announced several recent hires as part of its turnaround plan. The company added former Shutterfly CFO Vivian Liu as the new chief financial officer. Wish also added two former Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL executives as the chief technology officer and chief product officer.

WISH Price Action: Shares of ContextLogic are down 91% over the last year. Shares hit a high of $32.20 in the last year, led by strong retail trading demand and price targets of $69 and $100 thrown out by widely followed accounts.

Investors remain on the sideline or have exited. The new CEO hiring could provide a boost to the company’s financial figures and share price in the future.

Shares of WISH gained 7.92% Tuesday, closing at $2.86, compared to a 52-week range of $2.10 and $32.20.