????上周四的沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）看起來就像是一支輸了比賽的球隊：希望通過解雇總教練來扭轉局面。這家總部位于阿肯色州本頓維爾的零售巨頭宣布，已聘請一位新高管來執掌陷于困境的美國零售業務。

????沃爾瑪現任中國業務CEO高福瀾（Greg Foran）正是這位人選，他將接替比爾?西蒙掌管沃爾瑪美國業務。自2010年以來一直擔任沃爾瑪美國CEO的西蒙將離開這家公司。就在近6個月前，董明倫（Doug McMillon）剛剛接替退休的麥道克（Mike Duke）出任沃爾瑪全球CEO。

????從很多角度，你可以認為，西蒙的離開是一個未能問鼎公司最高職位者的自然反應。“我們曾經將西蒙列為接替沃爾瑪前CEO麥道克的潛在人選，但最終董明倫勝出。”晨星（Morningstar）的一份研究報告稱，“對于西蒙的離職，我們一點也不感到驚訝。”

????金融服務公司Cowen and Company在新聞稿中表示，“[西蒙]呆了這么久令人意外，我們原本以為他會盡快離職，盡早啟動2年內不得服務于競爭對手的倒計時。”

????沃爾瑪企業傳播副總裁大衛?托瓦爾也向《財富》（Fortune）雜志證實稱，“董明倫和西蒙是兩位來自公司內部的CEO候選人。最終董明倫得到了這個職位。在此類情形下，未成功問鼎者最終離職他就的情況并不少見。”

????沃爾瑪在宣布管理層變更的聲明中，稱贊西蒙在擔任美國業務CEO期間“為公司注入了新的活力，專注于每日低成本、每日低價和增加產品種類。”

????Cowen and Company的法耶?蘭蒂斯表示，西蒙推出了沃爾瑪的4美元處方藥，加大了對健康食品的關注，并通過增加運動裝備成功重塑了服裝部門。

????但西蒙在沃爾瑪的業績也受到美國零售業整體不景氣的影響。“我們知道，美國業務對于公司的成功至關重要，它可以變得更強，”董明倫在上周四發給沃爾瑪員工的信中表示。“[高福瀾]將為瞬息萬變、競爭日益激烈的市場帶來新視角。”

????這樣的陳述很是委婉。

????高福瀾面臨的其實是非常棘手的挑戰。沃爾瑪最近的季度報告顯示，公司美國銷售額連續第5個季度下滑，截至4月30日的季度利潤下降了5%。

????來自亞馬遜（Amazon.com）等網絡零售商的競爭以及購物模式的轉變（美國人正在更加頻繁地光顧1元店和藥店），都造成了零售額的下降。沃爾瑪發言人托瓦爾上周四告訴《財富》雜志稱，高福瀾將繼續實施現有策略來應對這些挑戰：開設沃爾瑪便利店（Walmart Express）和社區店（Neighborhood Markets）等規模較小的超市（面積1-4萬平方英尺），進一步擁抱電子商務。

????On Thursday, Wal-Mart seemed to be playing the part of a losing sports team looking to turn things around by ousting the head coach. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant announced that it had hired a new chief executive to oversee its struggling U.S. stores.

????Greg Foran, the current CEO of Walmart China, will take over Walmart U.S. for Bill Simon, who has held the position since 2010 and will be leaving the company. The moves comes nearly six months after Doug McMillon took over for a retiring Mike Duke as CEO of all of Wal-Mart.

????In many ways, you can think of Simon’s departure as a natural reaction from someone who has been passed over for the company’s top job. “We had considered Simon as a potential candidate to replace Walmart’s former CEO, Mike Duke, but Doug McMillon was given the nod over Simon,” according to a note from investor research firm Morningstar. “We aren’t completely surprised by Simon’s departure.”

????Financial services firm Cowen and Company in its own release said that it was “surprised that [Simon] stuck around for so long, as we thought he would want to start the clock on his 2-year non-compete as quickly as possible.”

????Walmart Vice President of Communications David Tovar confirmed as much to Fortune. “Doug and Bill were two internal candidates for the top job. Doug got the job and, in those situations, it’s not uncommon for the person who didn’t get it to ultimately leave the company and go somewhere else.”

????Wal-Mart, in its statement announcing the management change, praised Simon for leading a “turnaround that reinvigorated the company’s focus on everyday low costs, everyday low prices and an increased product assortment,” in his time as U.S. CEO.

????Simon introduced the retail giant’s $4 prescriptions, increased its focus on healthier foods, and led a successful makeover of its apparel department by shifting to more athletically inspired gear, says Faye Landes of Cowen and Company.

????But Simon’s track record at Wal-Mart has also been marred by struggling U.S. sales. “We know that our U.S. business is critical to the success of our company and that it can be even stronger,” McMillon said in a letter to Wal-Mart employees on Thursday. “[Foran] will bring fresh eyes to an increasingly competitive market that is changing rapidly.”

????That’s a nice way of putting it.

????Foran faces a daunting challenge. The company’s latest quarterly earnings revealed the fifth straight decline in U.S. sales, which factored into the retailer’s 5% drop in profits for the quarter ending April 30.

????Competition from online retailers like Amazon.com and evolving shopping patterns among Americans—who are now making more frequent trips to dollar and drug stores—are partly to blame for the slumping sales. Tovar, Wal-Mart’s spokesman, told Fortune on Thursday, that Foran will continue the store’s ongoing strategy to address those concerns: opening smaller, 10,000 to 40,000 square-foot stores like Walmart Express and Neighborhood Markets and further embracing e-commerce.