Why is Walmart aggressively divesting DTC brands?
Walmart sold Moosejaw, Bonobos, and Eloquii within just a few months, with Bonobos sold for about $235 million less than its acquisition price six years ago. These brands were acquired by Walmart between 2017 and 2018, and are now being divested one by one as the company refocuses on its core business. In this podcast episode, reporters Daphne Howland and Dani James discuss the significance of this shift for Walmart's future strategy.
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Retail giant Walmart is undergoing a strategic shift, having moved to sell three brands in just a few months. Outdoor retailer Moosejaw, menswear brand Bonobos, and plus-size clothing company Eloquii are all set to leave Walmart, even as the company focuses more on its core business.
Notably, the sale of Bonobos is costly. Walmart has agreed to sell it to Express and WHP Global for about $75 million, which is about $235 million less than what it paid when acquiring it six years ago.
Walmart acquired Moosejaw, Eloquii, and Bonobos between 2017 and 2018. During that period, the mass retailer also invested in a series of e-commerce companies, including Jet, Modcloth, and Shoes.com.
But since then, Walmart has closed or divested most of those companies. In this episode of The Backroom podcast, reporters Daphne Howland and Dani James discuss what this series of moves means for Walmart's future strategy.
Retail Dive · Why is Walmart selling off its DTC brands?
Resource Links
- Dick's to acquire Moosejaw from Walmart
- Plus-size brand Eloquii becomes latest to leave Walmart's DTC portfolio
- Walmart sells Bonobos to Express and WHP Global for $75M
- Walmart acquires Jet for a record $3 billion
- Shoes.com changes hands again, this time to DSW's parent company
- Walmart sells ModCloth to financial firm
Editor's note: This episode was produced and edited by Caroline Jansen.