Target appoints Walmart, General Mills executives to shore up grocery business

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Target Corp said on Monday it has hired two former executives from Wal-Mart Inc and General Mills Inc to join its food and beverage business, as the retailer seeks to revamp its grocery aisles.

Mark Kenny, former senior director of private brands, deli and bakery at Wal-Mart, has been appointed as Target’s vice president of meat and fresh prepared food. Liz Nordlie, former president of General Mills’ baking division, was named vice president of product design and development for food and beverage, Target said.

The Minneapolis-based retailer, which has been trying to overhaul its food business for more than two years, said in February that price cuts for groceries would be a priority in 2017.

Target, which has been embroiled in an intense price war with rivals such as Kroger Co and the nation’s leading grocer Wal-Mart Stores Inc , is hoping to gain market share as it overhauls its grocery division.

In March, Target named Kroger veteran Jeff Burt to head its senior vice president of grocery, fresh food and beverage. Target’s previous grocery chief Anne Dament stepped down in November, less than eighteen months after she was appointed and tasked with turning around the retailer’s grocery business, which accounts for a fifth of Target’s sales.

(Reporting by Richa Naidu; editing by Diane Craft)