New eBay CEO Not Happy With ‘Where We Currently Stand’

Buying activity in eBay’s core marketplaces grew 29% in Q2, its “highest quarterly growth rate in 15 years,” said CEO Jamie Iannone on an investor call. EBay hired him in April from Walmart, where he was chief operating office for e-commerce (see personals section, April 14). He was an eBay vice president for eight years before leaving in 2009 to become CEO of SamsClub.com. “Consumer behavior is rapidly evolving and this dynamic has been accelerated by COVID-19," said Iannone Tuesday evening. The pandemic is significantly speeding buying activity growth and "new customer acquisition,” he said. But he’s “not satisfied with where we currently stand,” he said. “We've not executed to our full potential. New competitors have taken share because we neglected our core area of expertise.” EBay wrongly focused on new areas that “could not drive sustainable or profitable growth,” he said. “To be candid, we did not adapt quickly enough to the rapidly changing needs of our customers.” The company has “enormous untapped potential that we absolutely must capitalize on,” he said. “This is what brought me back to eBay.” Reshaping the company will be a “multiyear process,” he said. “Tech-led reimagination, our plan is to become the best marketplace in the world for buyers and sellers.”