Dive Brief:
- Online retailer Boxed has named former Amazon executive Prentis Wilson as its first president, according to a press release.
- Wilson was formerly vice president and general manager of Amazon Business, a division he helped expand to more than $10 billion in annual sales in under four years. Before that, he led Cisco’s global sourcing and procurement operations and spent 12 years at Honeywell International.
- Boxed also recently named a new chief financial officer, vice president of growth and vice president of product.
Dive Insight:
Boxed hopes that snagging talent from Amazon can help it grow an online business that's fighting to stand out against the world's largest e-commerce site along with Costco, grocery stores and other online players.
At the same time, Boxed is continuing on a trajectory towards offering tech and retail services beyond its marketplace offerings. Some of the services it offers include order management systems, mobile technology, software that monitors and lists product expiration dates and even automated robots that wheel packages around warehouses.
Lidl is currently piloting an online delivery service through Boxed's Express service in two store locations, offering the discounter's full array of products including fresh produce, snacks and beverages. Lidl, which originally eschewed online expansion when it set foot in the U.S., will assess the trial after it ends this fall.
By focusing more on services and technology, Boxed hopes to capitalize on the same industry disruption and shifting consumer habits that helped lift its online retailing business. But it has a lot of competition to contend with. On the fulfillment side, Instacart and Shipt dominate while startups and restaurant delivery services are circling. And there's certainly no shortage of tech vendors attempting to sell retailers on automated systems and software.
In an interview with Grocery Dive earlier this year, Boxed CEO Chieh Huang said the company's technology was a big reason why Japan's Aeon Group decided to invest $110 million last year.
Boxed hasn't taken its eye off the core business. Its Prince & Spring private label line saw record sales in this year's first quarter, according to the company. Here again, though, Boxed is looking for opportunities beyond its marketplace. In a recent interview with Grocery Dive, Boxed’s head of private brands, Jeffrey Gamsey, said the New York-based company has been in talks with retailers about stocking Prince & Spring products in their stores.
