Carmen Nestares, Amazon - HomeWorld Business

The August 15 edition of HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® revealed the 11th Annual “Players,” people to watch in housewares during the next 12 months.

Selected by HomeWorld Business editors, the Players represent a cross section of a diverse housewares business— from established to newly installed company leaders; from large to small operations, from big-box to specialty retailers; from trade show managers to celebrity endorsers.

The HomeWorld Players are in the spotlight not only for how they might impact their respective organizations in the coming months, but also for how they might impact the overall housewares business.

Carmen Nestares, Amazon, General Manager, Kitchen, Dining, Wedding Registry

PLAYER’S CREDENTIALS: Before taking the helm of Amazon’s kitchen and dining categories in early 2015, Carmen Nestares was a senior marketing director for Johnson & Johnson’s health care brands. She managed the transformation of the Band-Aid brand from its traditional first-aid scope to a broader family care platform better equipped to compete against private label adhesive bandages.

At Amazon, Nestares spearheaded the launch of a new kitchen “store” in the third quarter of 2015. The refresh showcased an aspirational, lifestyle-oriented approach to kitchen and dining products, replete with more images, video and information designed to amplify consumer engagement on the site by capturing “share of heart” and not just “share of wallet.”

WHAT TO WATCH: Improvements to site presentation and content— along with such new innovations as Dash, Echo and Launchpad— continue Amazon’s focus on searching, browsing and purchasing kitchen and dining products simpler and more enjoyable.

Amazon recently went live with a new wedding registry, which Nestares sees as critical to moving Amazon’s home business to a new level of consumer engagement, specifically among Millennials at an important life stage when it comes to establishing shopping behavior and choices. Amazon’s registry presents a more curated approach, offering suggestions to help shoppers browse gift ideas across 15 different categories. A universal registry element allows customers to add items from other sites to their Amazon wedding registry.

PERSPECTIVE: “We want to connect the right customer with the right product and do it as quickly and simply as possible. It’s important to look at share of wallet, but you’re not really seeing what’s behind the purchase: That’s share of heart. I’ve challenged our vendors to think outside the box. Bringing more innovation to our customers will increase their share of heart with Amazon and allow them to enjoy their home even more,” said Nestares.

2017 HomeWorld Business Players (click on name for profile):

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