Dive Brief:
- Dennis Mullahy, the first-ever chief supply chain officer at Macy’s, has left the company after four years in the position, according to a post on his LinkedIn profile on Wednesday. Macy's confirmed his last day was July 14.
- The company said Mullahy modernized the department store’s supply chain operations and led a team during industry-wide supply chain upheaval. Mullahy also oversaw the launch of mini distribution centers at 35 stores and the opening of a $584 million distribution center.
- Three people will lead the company’s supply chain functions following Mullahy’s departure, in lieu of maintaining the chief supply chain officer position, the company confirmed. Bryan Riviere, senior vice president of supply chain sourcing; Sandra Han, senior vice president of supply chain integrated planning; and Sean Barbour, senior vice president of supply chain strategy and product flow, will all report to Adrian Mitchell, who serves as both chief operations officer and chief financial officer.
Dive Insight:
Under Mullahy’s leadership, Macy’s has worked to build out its supply chain network to support its omnichannel operations.
“I am so proud of my team and what we accomplished,” Mullahy wrote. “Together we created tremendous value and at the same time created a culture within the supply chain to value each other and our teams, to be transparent, to be self-reflective, to be authentic and to drive results.”
Macy’s joined other department stores in investing in new supply chain initiatives, including changing their fulfillment center strategy to better manage omnichannel and in-store sales. Macy's in 2022 began using some in-store space for fulfillment center functions to move its distribution network closer to customers. Using stores as fulfillment centers can enable retailers to better leverage inventory and increase speed and efficiency.
“We impacted every function from how we source and develop private label goods, to how we manage inventory productivity to drive margin, to how we run our network and finally to how we do our part to protect the environment and the teams that work for us,” Mullahy said.
Mullahy has 35 years of retail industry experience. Before joining Macy's, he worked at craft retailer Michaels for five and a half years, where he most recently served as executive vice president of supply chain and IT.
Mullahy’s past retail leadership experiences also include stints at Ulta Beauty, Meijer and as a partner at global consulting and IT firm Accenture, where he specialized in merchandising, supply chain and inventory control for clients that included the Saks Department Store Group and Walmart.
Looking ahead, “I am not sure what the next chapter will bring but I am excited to begin the journey to find out,” Mullahy said.
The leadership shakeup comes after Macy’s reported $5 billion in Q1 net sales, a 7% decline from last year. In its latest guidance, the company forecast that its net sales will reach $22.8 billion to $23.2 billion for the full year.
