Ina Steiner EcommerceBytes Blog
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by Ina Steiner, Editor of EcommerceBytes.com
Mon Aug 21 2017 09:32:32

eBay Scrambles as Head of Marketplaces Departs

By: Ina Steiner

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Hal Lawton is a familiar face to many sellers, but the head of eBay Marketplaces North America is leaving for another company, eBay announced Monday as it shuffled top executives to fill the void. (See update below.)

In an interview in 2015 after having been at the company for just 6 months, eBay gave Lawton credit for having "led the business through major milestones including the overhaul of seller standards, the development and release of the new Seller Hub, and the recently announced pricing and listing changes." 

While many hoped replacing eBay CEO John Donahoe 2 years ago with Lawton's boss, Devin Wenig, might have eventually slowed the pace of change, eBay continues to make drastic changes impacting sellers, with one executive recently calling eBay a "company of continuous innovation" when explaining the reason for making unannounced changes outside of the Spring and Summer Seller Updates.

Lawton was a major presence at the recent eBay Open seller conference in Las Vegas. On July 25th, he tweeted a picture of himself on the exhibit hall floor standing next to eBay CEO Devin Wenig: "Just arrived at #eBayOpen2017! Excited to spend the next few days in Las Vegas meeting with and supporting @eBay sellers."

Now Wenig is seeking a replacement as he turns to StubHub President Scott Cutler to take on Lawton's role in addition to his existing duties as head of eBay's tickets marketplace.

During the early years of eBay's public life, then CEO Meg Whitman kept a deep bench (in fact surprising many when she picked an outsider to take over when she left). That's no longer the case, and the departure of Lawton leaves questions not only about replacing members of Wenig's top team with such exits, but raises the question of who would step into his own shoes if the CEO were to depart.

Lawton's departure also raises questions about the success of Wenig's initiatives at a crucial time, as Wall Street looks for the promised benefits of his Structured Data Initiative, technology investments such as AI and machine learning, and a move to take eBay "everywhere" rather than expecting shoppers to visit the marketplace.

eBay didn't reveal where Lawton is headed - but where he lands could make Monday's announcement even more troubling.

Update 8/21/17: Hal Lawton landed at Macy's, see details.

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by: Scotty This user has validated their user name.

Mon Aug 21 19:08:05 2017

He's jumping from the Titanic to the Lusitania...good riddance.

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by: pace306 This user has validated their user name.

Mon Aug 21 21:04:34 2017

Macy's doesn't have 3rd party sellers.

Macy's can loose all the money they want on returns etc - their store closings though SPEAK VOLUMES.

Good riddance as far as I'm concerned  

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by: Trying-My-Best This user has validated their user name.

Mon Aug 21 21:51:52 2017

Lawton did not develop a Home Depot's website.  He was responsible for Merchandising.

Read his Twitter feed - he's thrilled to be out of eBay.  Of course, who wouldn't be ... he's leaving with a ridiculous amount of money & laughing all the way to the bank.  He is leaving the site more of a mess than when he started.  



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by: Trying-My-Best This user has validated their user name.

Mon Aug 21 22:11:12 2017

A few months back I read Macy's is steering away from being known for clothing and intends to reposition & focus on Electronics and Home Goods.  LOL - their clothing retail business was always a mess :  too much inventory, constantly in markdown mode.  Iso now it's electronics and bedsheets and kitchenware.  Not sure what Hardware Store Hal is going to do for them - as he certainly created no value at eBay.

He's laughing all the way to the bank thanks to eBays shameful executive compensation payout.  Read his twitter comment - he's thrilled to be out of eBay.  

Good grief, we will all have to see his smug face every year during the Macy's Thanksgiving 🦃 Parade.





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by: pace306 This user has validated their user name.

Tue Aug 22 06:56:06 2017

INA - the removed my post and any other that was negative ... good way to try and sanitize an otherwise poor career at eBay.

Macys used to be in electronics and bailed on it (PS Sony took a bath on that idea when they made custom models just for them!)(and it didnt work). Macys also used to be in the bedding biz ... didnt work too well either.

Macys (like Sears) is a dino that wont die (ask Eddy Lampert). The margins in electronics are RAZOR thin at best, and Best Buy and others will kill them in that arena.

As for home goods - they are in TIGHT competition from Bed Bath & Beyond who has electronics (home-kitchen) down solid - good luck upending that cart.

That anyone would pay him (over at Macys) that kinda money is absurd considering eBays %3 growth.

Worse he knew he was leaving - during eBay OPEN - so why didnt eBay say anything????? another scam.

Will we see a giant float of his face during the Thanksgiving Parade? (oh geez)

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This user has validated their user name. by: Rexford

Tue Aug 22 07:25:10 2017

eXtinctBay says "He built the Home Depot website, and Macy's needs to grow their online business If they want to survive."

Wrong.....his TEAM built the Home Depot site.  He didn't build squat.  That isn't how corporate entities work.

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by: eBay Shill Buster This user has validated their user name.

Tue Aug 22 13:03:40 2017

Agree, if you have talented server administrators and coders working under you anyone can translate ideas and build a web portal, you just have to have a lot of cash to keep those technical people happy, when you are running a public company you usually have the money to keep talented people around.

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by: mcposty This user has validated their user name.

Tue Aug 22 14:46:14 2017

When will ebay investors learn..they need to clean house and get competent and caring people involved not suit jockeys looking for free money

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by: Volvo351 This user has validated their user name.

Wed Aug 23 21:07:04 2017

Good riddance to all these business wizards. The more deadwood they load into the San Jose Ivory Tower, the worse sell-thru inevitably gets. Fire the whole stinkin' lot of 'em and use the savings to reduce those awful fees.

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