Today, according to WWD, Walmart has announced that it appointed Vinima Shekhar as its new Vice President of Beauty. Shekhar replaces Creighton Kiper, who has been promoted to Senior Vice President of the retailer’s home business.
Prior to this role, Shekhar served as Vice President of Wellness, where she excelled in all key metrics including sales, profit, and digital targets. Since joining Walmart in 2018 on the ecommerce side, she has also led the omni-holiday program for consumables, achieving record-breaking sales and sell-through across the division.
In recent years, Walmart has modernized its beauty business despite some declines in mass market categories like makeup and fragrance. The retailer has implemented a shop-in-shop partnership with Space NK to bring prestige beauty products to its aisles, including a co-incubated brand called BeautySpace. Space NK’s U.S. wholesale division was recently acquired by the PCA Companies.
Additionally, Walmart’s strategy involves integrating indie and emerging brands alongside established ones. Notable brands include Madison Reed, Current State of Skin, and the inclusive hair care brand Being by Monday Haircare cofounder Jaimee Lupton. Under Kiper’s leadership, Walmart also introduced Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight’s skin care brand ITK and Halsey’s makeup line Af94, among others.
Former Walmart Vice President of Beauty, Kiper, also stated that Walmart is committed to providing long-term appeal for brands by offering support in supply chain and marketing. They are fostering brand growth by launching these brands in 500-1000 stores.
According to Walmart’s latest financial report, the company’s revenue for the first quarter of this year reached $161.51 billion, a slight increase of 6% year-on-year, exceeding analysts’ predictions.
