Marisa Thalberg, Lowe's head of branding and marketing, is leaving the home improvement retailer as part of the company's restructuring.
Lowe's said last week that she is stepping down from her role as marketing director, and her marketing team will now report to Bill Boltz, executive vice president of marketing. The retailer said Jane Wilson, senior vice president of consumer brand and marketing, has been promoted to senior vice president of corporate brand and marketing and will report to Mr. Boltz reported.
The online retailer team and Mike Shady, Senior Vice President Online, who was previously Mr. Boltz reports that Lowe's will now report to Seemantini Godbole, chief information and digital officer.
A company spokesperson told Ad Age that the restructuring was necessary to "improve alignment across business...we need deeper integration between marketing, merchandising and stores."
In an online discussion last week, there was a wide range of reactions to the adjustment from retail minds trust experts, with some not convinced that grouping marketing under merchandise is the right way to sort things out.
“This move by Lowe is kind of a headache,” wrote David Speer, Senior Partner, Industry Consulting, Retail, CPG and Hospitality at Teradata TDC. Consider that Lore had annual revenues of $96 billion in 2022. One could argue that a company of this size cannot take on the responsibility of reporting directly to the CEO, and secondly, moving C-person 1 within the product naturally reduces the impact From Marketing Initiatives It's a shame because I thought Lowe had tremendous momentum from a marketing standpoint and he implemented a good unique experience game. "
“In my experience, this is wrong,” wrote Lee Peterson, executive vice president of thought leadership and marketing at WD Partners. “Marketing is short-term thinking: What have you sold today? Marketing is long-term thinking: How can we promote the brand? After repeat sales and profits are driven by sales rather than long-term brand goals (except for external brands) I do not think about the future. And it may be That's what Lowe needs; sales now, but that's not going to happen. It's not going to go well for them in the long run."
Professor Jean Detroyer wrote: “I refer to marketing as promotion, I have been in charge of marketing and in charge of advertising. Both require a completely different mindset. Marketing is long-term. Promotion is short-term. When marketing is the end of being a promotion dog, the company loses focus on the brand And while promotion is important, branding is what drives a business forward.”
The advertising age section indicates that it is unusual for retailers to place marketing below merchandise. The practice was more common in grocery stores more than a decade ago, said Richard Sanderson, a consultant at Spencer Stewart, when "marketing was already organizing weekly promotions and printing flyers."
However, some members of Retailware's mind were more positive about the prospects for the new setup.
"I'm fine with a more product-focused approach, without discounting marketing, but you have to start with the right product," wrote Brian Delp, CEO of New Sega Home. "From there, you can clearly identify the marketable properties and characteristics. It will be interesting to see how that develops and if others will follow."
Others saw more potential with the reorganization of another order.
"I have long sought a better alignment between marketing and merchandising, and I applaud Lowe's willingness to take this bold and risky step," wrote Dave Bruno, Director of Retail Market Insights at Aptos. "However, I've always seen it go in the opposite direction - the trade-to-market ratio."
“A brand’s ability to deliver value and promise should guide all decisions,” wrote Patricia Vekic Waldron, founder and CEO of Vision First. "I'm all for smashing silos, but this is a step backwards - marketing should drive promotion."
However, there were also objections to this proposal.
“Growth marketing is a 21st century phenomenon and, in my opinion, has caused many problems to be resolved, including managing their IT departments,” wrote Paula Rosenblum, co-founder of RSR Research. "Let's put it this way - I'd rather get a trade marketing report than the other way around."
CNBC reported that Mr. Thalberg's departure came after two consecutive quarters in which Lowe's same-store sales declined from strong year-over-year comparisons. Lowe's has benefited from getting its customers stimulus checks from the government in 2021 and focusing more on their homes in light of the pandemic. In 2022, consumers focused their spending on necessities and reduced discretionary spending due to rising prices and economic uncertainty.
departure of mr. Lowe's Thulberg will likely be followed by others in retail as more companies search for answers to boost sales at a time when consumer demand is slowing, inventory builds up and businesses engage in a steady flow of goods. On the go during Christmas. the classroom. Approaching.
But while other retailers are looking for ways to realign responsibilities and direct reporting, some at the Brain Trust say they don't expect any real change from this particular change.
“Marketing is still part of promotion,” wrote Anand Chakraborty, Vice President of Research at IDC. "Commerce sells products and marketing must support it - hence the importance of alignment. However, this decision is due to management leaving, but Lov took the right steps to fill the void."
Frankly, that has always been the case,” Ms. Rosenblum wrote. “Either under commodity or under par. Retailers do not sell brands. They sell products. Then marketing and promotion work together to see what products they can buy specifically for promotion.”