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  August 10th, 2016 | Written by

Walmart Agrees to Acquire Jet.com

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  • Walmart acquires ecommerce company Jet.com.
  • Jet.com is one of the fastest growing ecommerce companies in the U.S.
  • Walmart and Jet will maintain distinct brands.

Walmart will be acquiring Jet.com for $3 billion in cash, the retailing giant has announced. A portion of the cash will be paid over time as will $300 million of Walmart shares.

The acquisition is meant to build on and complement the foundation in place to serve customers across the Walmart app, site, and stores and position the company for faster ecommerce growth in the future by expanding customer reach and adding new capabilities.

The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, has been approved by the boards of directors for both companies and is expected to close this calendar year.

“We’re looking for ways to lower prices, broaden our assortment and offer the simplest, easiest shopping experience because that’s what our customers want,” said Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart. “We believe the acquisition of Jet accelerates our progress across these priorities. Walmart.com will grow faster, the seamless shopping experience we’re pursuing will happen quicker, and we’ll enable the Jet brand to be even more successful in a shorter period of time.”

Jet is among the fastest growing and most innovative e-commerce companies in the U.S., with an experienced leadership team led by co-founder and CEO Marc Lore, together with fellow co-founders Mike Hanrahan and Nate Faust. Among other things, Lore previously co-founded and led Quidsi, the parent company of ecommerce sites Diapers.com, Soap.com and Wag.com. With the help of Faust and Hanrahan, Lore grew Quidsi into a prominent and successful business that was ultimately sold. The acquisition of Jet will infuse Walmart with fresh ideas and expertise, said a company statement, as well as an attractive brand with proven appeal, especially with millennials, the first generation of digital natives.

Jet has demonstrated ability to scale with speed, reaching $1 billion in run-rate gross merchandise value and offering 12 million SKUs in its first year. The company boasts a growing customer base of urban and millennial customers with more than 400,000 new shoppers added monthly and an average of 25,000 daily processed orders. Its technology that rewards customers in real time with savings on items that are bought and shipped together, reducing the supply-chain and logistics costs often buried in the price of goods.

“We started Jet with the vision of creating a new shopping experience,” Lore said. “The combination of Walmart’s retail expertise, purchasing scale, sourcing capabilities, distribution footprint, and digital assets, together with the team, technology, and business we have built here at Jet, will allow us to deliver more value to customers.”

Walmart and Jet will maintain distinct brands, with Walmart.com focusing on delivering the company’s Everyday Low Price strategy, while Jet will continue to provide a unique and differentiated customer experience with curated assortment. Walmart and Jet will leverage innovative technology solutions from both companies to develop new offerings to help customers save time and money.

Walmart believes it will obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the transaction and both companies intend to make all necessary filings in the near future.