Connect with us

Headlines

e For Effort

Wal-Mart, Kmart take control of their online businesses

Published

on

Wal-Mart and Kmart, the two discount mass-merchandising retail giants, have decided to assume greater participation in their online businesses.

Wal-Mart (Bentonville, Ark.) has bought out its Walmart.com minority stockholder, venture capitalist Accel Partners, and now owns the e-commerce subsidiary outright. The companies are not releasing any specifics on the terms and conditions of the buyout.

Walmart.com will remain a separate business unit within Wal-Mart, which says it is initiating the buyout “to help establish the deepest integration possible between its online and offline programs.”

Jeanne Jackson, who came over to Wal-Mart a year and a half ago from The Gap as president and ceo of Walmart.com, will remain in that position.

“While we remain as committed as ever to meeting the needs of our online customers, it is clear to us that the next evolution for Walmart.com is to establish an even deeper integration between our online business and the operations of our Wal-Mart stores,” said Lee Scott, president and ceo of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Clearly, customers today want to shop and seek information through both online and offline channels. As a result, our focus areas in priority order are tighter integration of our online program with our stores, developing additional services under the trusted Wal-Mart name that we can offer online, and continued development of our online shopping site. The best and most practical way for us to address these opportunities is to do so from within one company.”

Advertisement

Existing Walmart.com business functions — including technology development, site design and merchandising — will remain based in the San Francisco area, according to Jackson. The Walmart.com operation will report to Tom Schoewe, executive vp and cfo of Wal-Mart Stores. Wal-Mart anticipates no layoffs as a result of the buyout.

And Kmart (Troy, Mich.) has entered into a merger agreement in which Kmart anticipates acquiring, on or before Aug. 1, 2001, all of the shares and interests of BlueLight.com that it doesn't already currently own.

BlueLight.com is an independent company based in San Francisco. It was formed in 1999 by Kmart Corp., Softbank Venture Capital and others.

Advertisement

SPONSORED HEADLINE

7 design trends to drive customer behavior in 2024

7 design trends to drive customer behavior in 2024

In-store marketing and design trends to watch in 2024 (+how to execute them!). Learn More.

Promoted Headlines

Most Popular