Zhu will manage the overall product strategy, roadmap, and execution at Mercato. He joins company from Walmart.com where he was director of product. Zhu was also director of product at Jet.com, which was acquired by Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart for $3.3 billion with much fanfare and quietly discontinued four years later. An early Jet.com employee, he helped scale the e-commerce startup from pre-launch to post-acquisition. Most recently, Zhu founded and built Lewis, an online travel-planning service.
Bishop-Hill lives in San Diego; Durand resides in Omaha, Nebraska; and Zhu is based in Los Angeles.
Operating in 45 states, Mercato connects consumers to more than 1,000 independently owned grocery stores and specialty markets.
Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart operates more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam's Club ranks No. 9 on the list.