Walmart Fuses Buying Teams to Cut Down on Cross-Company Red Tape

Walmart Inc. is deepening the integration of its online and brick-and-mortar units by merging the merchandising teams that choose what products are carried by the world’s largest retailer.

All of the company’s merchants will now report jointly to U.S. Chief Executive Officer John Furner and U.S. e-commerce chief Marc Lore, the executives said in a joint internal memo Tuesday. The group will span six product categories, such as apparel, food and home, and will eventually “buy every item sold by Walmart,” the memo said.