Marisa Thalberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand and Marketing Officer.
Source: Marisa Thalberg
Lowe’s Chief marketing officer Marisa Thalberg has left the retailer as part of a broader reorganization, the company announced on Tuesday.
The home improvement retailer cut its role and moved its marketing team under Bill Boltz, executive vice president of merchandising. Thalberg previously reported directly to CEO Marvin Ellison.
The departure from Thalberg part of a growing wave of leadership changes in the retail sector. Difference, GameStop and Bed bath and beyond are among other retailers who have lost senior executives. These upheavals have grown as spending fueled by stimulus checks declines and some consumers pull back from discretionary purchases due to inflation. For some companies, especially the major beneficiaries of the pandemic such as Platoonthis resulted in a sudden and dramatic drop in sales.
Lowe too experienced a slowdown. Its same-store sales have declined over the past two quarters. The company said it now expects total and comparable sales for the year towards the bottom of its outlook range. He had forecast sales of $97 billion to $99 billion and comparable sales down 1% to 1%.
Thalberg took office in February 2020, a month before the pandemic began, and fueled a surge in home improvement spending. she supervised several large-scale campaigns, including TV commercials on ESPN during the NFL Draft, and an increased effort to take advantage of the holiday season.
Prior to joining Lowe’s, she was Taco Bell’s global brand leader and worked for Estee Lauder, Unilever Cosmetics International and Revlon.
Lowe’s has tapped the advertising executive to woo customers as the retailer reshuffles its wider business and takes on more of a bigger rival Home deposit. Led by Ellison, who joined Lowe’s in 2018, the home improvement retailer has relaunched its website, launched a new loyalty program to chase money away from home professionals and expanded its merchandise line to include equipment for exercise, pet supplies and more home decor.
He also wanted to refresh his image and brought in Thalberg to oversee this. At the time of his hire, Ellison stated that Lowe’s hired her to put a more modern spin on Lowe’s marketing approach, such as personalizing social media messages for customers instead of relying on traditional channels such as TV and radio.
Thalberg could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lowe’s said Thalberg’s departure is one of several company-wide changes that took effect on Friday. He said all the changes were “to improve alignment across the business and position Lowe’s for success.”
Its business, which targets home professionals, such as electricians and contractors, will now be operated in-store. Tony Hurst, senior vice president who oversees Lowe’s business operations, will now report to Joe McFarland, executive vice president of Lowe’s stores. He previously reported directly to Ellison.
Its online team, which was previously led by Boltz, will now report to the technology team instead of the merchandising team. Mike Shady, senior vice president online, will report directly to Lowe’s chief digital and information officer, Seemantini Godbole.
Lowe’s CMO role has not been filled. Instead, Lowe’s promoted Jen Wilson to senior vice president of corporate brand and marketing, and she will report to Boltz.
Shares of Lowe’s are down about 25% so far this year, closing Tuesday at $192.96.