• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, July 2, 2010

Just three days after being named president and CEO of Walmart U.S., Bill Simon has announced that John Fleming, chief merchandising officer, is leaving the company.

Fleming, who has been with Walmart 10 years, was previously the chief marketing officer, best known for bringing on the highly controversial Julie Roehm. Just weeks after her firing in December 2006 -- a black eye that stayed with Walmart for months -- Fleming was shifted over to merchandising, and was replaced in the CMO role by Stephen Quinn, who remains in that role, and reports to Simon.

Simon's memo provides plenty of tea leaves from Bentonville Ark., especially for those who have spent the last few days wondering what exactly Simon's appointment -- and the abrupt move of Eduardo Castro-Wright, who had been president/CEO of Walmart U.S., to its Internet operations in California -- means to the retailer.

In the first paragraph, Simon's memo to employees -- posted on the company's Web site -- reminds employees "that we must never get set in our ways," adding: "our mandate is clear: increase customer traffic, make sure our products are relevant to our customer and never give an inch on price leadership," objectives that "require strong leadership and a sense of urgency."

While Walmart's sales were strong through much of the recession, consumers are currently a little less enthralled. When it announced its first-quarter results back in May, its international results were reported to be strong, but same-store sales in the U.S. division fell 1.4%.

At the time, Walmart executives cited the continued weak economy -- yet other retailers in the segment, including Target and a handful of dollar-stores, saw sales increase.