Walmart Sells Off Two Brands in Digital Consolidation
In an effort to streamline its resources and better compete with Amazon, Walmart has sold Shoes.com and Bare Necessities.
Need to Know
- Walmart has sold two of its digital brands, Shoes.com and Bare Necessities.
- The two brands were originally purchased in 2017 and 2018, but Walmart is now looking to streamline its digital resources.
- After massive online success following the onset of the pandemic, Walmart is investing in its omnichannel services.
Analysis
Less than three years after the original acquisitions, Walmart has sold two of its digital brands.
In an effort to refocus Walmart’s resources, the major retailer has sold off Bare Necessities and Shoes.com, which were acquired in 2018 and 2017 respectively. Earlier this year, the retailer also sold off apparel brand Modcloth and shuttered Jet.com.
Initially, Bare Necessities and Shoes.com fit into Walmart’s acquisition strategy of buying “companies that are category leaders with specialized expertise and product assortment.”
Now, in order to better compete with Amazon, Walmart is looking to streamline the shopping experience.
“The number of customers we’re serving in these categories on Walmart.com, along with the corresponding sales volume, is very different than before each acquisition,” Walmart said in a statement.
Shoes.com was sold to private-equity firm CriticalPoint Capital and Bare Necessities will be acquired by Delta Galil Industries Ltd., an Israeli brand that also owns the 7 for All Mankind denim company.
While the details of the deals were not made public, a Walmart spokesperson said, “[t]his transition marks an exciting new chapter for both Shoes and Bare and allows each to focus solely on continuing its own growth under new ownership.”
The repositioning of resources could also be related to the massive e-commerce success Walmart is experiencing since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic—online sales surged by 97% in the second quarter.
Walmart is now focusing on its omnichannel services like curbside pickup and streamlining its sourcing and operations teams.
Reportedly, the retail giant is also interested in an investment with Microsoft in the social media platform TikTok.
