Nike Inc. and Bonobos are now selling their products on Walmart Inc.-owned Jet.com. Walmart, No. 3 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 1000, announced its intention to sell Nike and Converse products in September and is making good on that plan.
Both Nike (No. 27) and Walmart-owned Bonobos have branded shops on Jet.com. Bonobos will sell an assortment of apparel while Nike will sell hundreds of its products, including apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and children. Jet will sell these items from its own inventory instead of having marketplace merchants sell these products.
“As we continue implementing our new strategy focused on the city consumer, we’re delighted to welcome Nike and Bonobos to Jet.com,” says Simon Belsham, Jet.com’s president. “Having a direct relationship with them both means we can offer a fully branded experience and a unique assortment of the brands’ leading pieces, which is important as we head into the holiday season.”
Jet, which Walmart acquired for $3.3 billion in 2016, is making a play for busy, affluent urban consumers who already shop Jet for apparel, general merchandise and household goods, according to Walmart.
Earlier this week, Walmart announced it will sell four Blue Apron meal kits on Jet.com. Prior to that, the retail giant revamped Jet.com’s website. The Jet.com changes followed a redesign of Walmart.com, which included adding higher-end fashion brands, such as Lord & Taylor premium brands. Walmart has made several efforts to become a fashion destination, and has acquired seven online retailers since August 2016—including plus-size apparel retailer Eloquii and intimates apparel retailer Bare Necessities, both of which it acquired in October.
In other e-commerce news:
- Athletic gear retailer Hibbett Sports Inc. acquired athletic footwear retailer City Gear for $88 million and possibly an additional $25 million paid over the next two years, Hibbett says. City Gear will operate as a subsidiary of Hibbett and will continue to be led by its senior management team. City Gear has sold online since 2008. However, e-commerce sales are less than 3% of City Gear’s overall sales. It operates around 135 physicals stores, mostly in southern states. City Gear also will retain its Memphis, Tennessee headquarters. Online sales for City Gear increased roughly 30-40% in 2018 compared with 2017, says Chris Brigham, the retailer’s director of omnichannel. City Gear has about 76,000 consumers who receive mobile push notifications in its app. The app launched roughly a year ago in August 2017. “It’s done really well and continually grows,” Brigham says.
- Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1) says it will open a 640,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Beaumont, California. It will be Amazon’s 14th fulfillment center in the Inland Empire area of southern California. Amazon says the facility will employ more than 1,000 workers.
- Extreme weather outwear apparel retailer Canada Goose (No. 644) acquired winter-boot company Baffin Inc. in its first foray into footwear for C$32.5 million ($24.8 million). Canada Goose has been focused on expansion since going public in 2017, plotting growth in markets such as China and entering new product categories like spring jackets. Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss said it will take some time before Canada Goose-branded boots hit shelves as the company plots its entry into the category.
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Meal-kit company HelloFresh Group (No. 84) acquired Canadian meal-kit company Chefs Plate, which was founded in 2014. HelloFresh says the acquisition, “will amount to a middle double digit million Canadian dollar amount,” without providing more specifics. The deal will expand on HelloFresh’s February 2016 entry into the Canadian market. For the three-month period ended June 30, HelloFresh delivered 48.9 million meals to 1.84 million active customers worldwide, 1.12 million of which were in the U.S., according to the retailer.
- Jeans brand True Religion named Chelsea A. Grayson as its interim CEO, following former CEO John Ermatinger’s recent decision to retire. While Grayson serves as interim CEO, True Religion’s board plans to find a permanent replacement. Prior to joining True Religion’s board in October 2017, Grayson served as CEO of American Apparel.
- Advertising platform company Criteo recently acquired mobile marketing and advertising company Manage. Criteo will use Manage’s mobile app install capabilities to complement its existing app business. Manage’s team will be integrated with Criteo’s. “Criteo’s global scale, extensive client base, unmatched technology and team, provide a tremendous opportunity for us to capitalize on the momentum we’ve built over the past few years,” said Mike Ng, Manage’s CEO. “Now, we can rapidly scale our mobile in-app solution to address marketers’ desire to have solutions that map to the entire customer journey.”
- Fulfillment services company ShipMonk has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by SJF Ventures with participation from Grotech Ventures, Supply Chain Ventures, and a strategic group of individual angel investors. The company will use the financing to expand its operations, such as adding a New York location in 2019.
