Amazon names veteran Herrington as head of consumer business

The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves, France, August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

June 21 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Tuesday named Doug Herrington as the head of its consumer business, tasking the 17-year veteran of the online retail giant with leading a bigger push into groceries.

Having joined the company from the now defunct online grocer Webvan, Herrington launched AmazonFresh in 2007 and has led the company’s North American consumer unit for more than seven years.

Amazon, which has shut its bookstores and some other physical retail outlets in the United States, has been focusing on its grocery business amid tough competition from U.S. supermarkets including Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and Kroger (KR.N).

The company also named John Felton, an 18-year Amazon veteran, as the head of its operations division that focuses on fulfillment and supply chains, as it looks to optimize transfers between its facilities and trim expenses.

Amazon in April reported it had excess warehouse and transportation capacity, which cost it about $2 billion in the first quarter. read more

Earlier this month, the company announced the departure of Dave Clark, the executive who shaped Amazon into a global delivery behemoth. read more

Clark is set to join logistics technology startup Flexport as chief executive in September. read more

Amazon shares were up nearly 3% on Tuesday amid a rise in the broader market, led by megacap growth and tech stocks.

Reporting by Akash Sriram and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Vinay Dwivedi

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.