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Walmart and the DTC Brand Unwind

| Mike O'Brien

The curious case of Walmart’s venture into creating a stable of hot startup DTC brands has come to a close, with the 2023 sales of Moosejaw, Bonobos and Eloquii in quick succession. So it’s a fitting time to take a look at the six-year-plus journey that began with the $3.3 billion acquisition of Jet.com. We look back and ruminate with Raj Konanahalli, a partner and managing director with AlixPartners.

Bonobos Being Sold by Walmart at a Big Discount

| Mike O'Brien

Less than two months after selling off Moosejaw Mountaineering to a more appropriate home at Dick’s Sporting Goods, another of Walmart’s digital-first apparel brands is being sold. This time, menswear seller Bonobos is going to Express and WHP Global for $75 million, a $235 million discount to its $310 million acquisition in 2017.

kroger data breach

Kroger Hit by Breach, No Customer Data Misused

| Mike O'Brien

Major grocer Kroger said it hit by a cyberattack, but that no personal shopper data or credit card information was compromised, in an incident that also hit government entities in New Zealand and Australia, a U.S. college, a state’s auditor and a prominent law firm, AP reports.

A Q&A with Jeff Streader on Go Global’s Plans for Modcloth

| Mike O'Brien

Brand investment platform Go Global has closed its acquisition of women’s retro fashion brand Modcloth from Walmart, announced last fall, with financing from Tiger Capital Group. Go Global managing director Jeff Streader talks to Multichannel Merchant about Modcloth’s distinctiveness and the importance of listening to customers.

Wayfair Opens First Physical Store in Natick, MA

| Mike O'Brien

Follow in the footsteps of other digitally native brands that have gone click to brick like Bonobos, Warby Parker, Framebridge and Tuft & Needle, Wayfair this week opened its first physical store in the Natick Mall in Natick, MA, outside its Boston headquarters. This trend shows that brands starting online acknowledge the power of the store.

Marc Lore Says Walmart Q4 Ecommerce Sales Drop Was Planned

| Daniela Forte

Marc Lore, Walmart’s CEO of U.S. Ecommerce, pushed back on critics at ShopTalk by saying the company’s Q4 ecommerce sales falloff was planned, that Walmart doesn’t give quarterly online sales guidance and that the company was taking the opportunity to “create a healthier business.”

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Walmart Sees Strong Growth in U.S. Ecommerce

| Daniela Forte

As its Jet.com acquisition continues to pay out, Walmart is seeing hyper growth in ecommerce, with U.S. online sales up 63% in the first quarter. See what initiatives Walmart has accomplished to further its ecommerce success.