Massmart has announced the assignment of (Theodore) Sylvester John, the Walmart North America Vice President for Last Mile Delivery to lead the Massmart e-commerce team. John, who will report into Chief Operations Officer, Richard Inskip has extensive senior level retail experience in the US and Africa, having worked in a wide range of business development activities including merchandising and operations. It is John’s experience in ecommerce, specifically omni-channel retail and last mile delivery however, that will be leveraged at his role at Massmart.

Commenting on the appointment, Massmart CEO Mitch Slape said, “The role of ecommerce is an important growth area for Massmart. Covid-19 has further emphasized the critical importance of e-commerce to access changing customer expectations and while we have seen significant increases in click and collect and online sales, we know there is more we can do. The result is that we have placed high priority on investing in, and improving, our e-commerce competence. To achieve this, we are extremely lucky to be able to draw on Walmart’s extensive knowledge and experience. They have been unwavering and very enthusiastic about sharing their expertise with us and Sylvester’s assignment is further evidence of their support.”

Sylvester has been key to launching and positioning Online Grocery Pickup in the US and establishing Walmart’s Last Mile Delivery organisation, delivering from more than 3000 stores in +500 US domestic markets that account for more than 65% of US households. This included leading Walmart’s Express Delivery, SNAP, Smart Substitutions and Instacart Marketplace initiatives. His remit in his new role will be to leverage his experience to assist his Massmart peers in establishing a market leading e-commerce and omnichannel capability within the Massmart group.

“Massmart has laid the foundations for a successful omni-channel and e-commerce business, having been early adopters of click-and-collect and recognising the importance of last mile delivery through the acquisition of Wumdrop in 2017. Sylvester’s experience will be Media Release invaluable in leveraging this strong foundation and establishing Massmart as a market leader in e-commerce,” added Slape.

Sylvester will join the team subject to the conclusion of meeting South African work visa requirements.