Bonobos Trims Jobs as Owner Walmart Seeks to Cut E-commerce Losses--Update
08 October 2019 - 06:41AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Nassauer
Bonobos, the men's apparel retailer owned by Walmart Inc., is
laying off some staff on Monday as Walmart works to narrow losses
in its unprofitable U.S. e-commerce division.
A few dozen people are being laid off, a personal familiar with
the situation said. Bonobos has around 600 employees, said a
Bonobos spokeswoman.
"These decisions are not taken lightly, but we believe they are
necessary to set the brand and business up for long term success,"
the spokeswoman said. The layoffs are a Bonobos decision, she
added.
Bonobos, founded in 2007, was acquired by Walmart for $310
million in 2017. The company started out selling online, expanded
its apparel line and opened shops where customers could try on
clothes and place orders for delivery.
Walmart has said losses in its e-commerce division, which
includes Bonobos, will be higher this fiscal year than last. The
company has been spending heavily to ramp up its e-commerce
operations, including grocery delivery. Most of Walmart's profits
still come from its traditional U.S. stores.
After buying startup Jet.com in 2016, Walmart acquired several
smaller e-commerce companies to boost the selection of products on
Walmart.com or gather talent and brand expertise. In 2017, Walmart
also bought women's apparel retailer ModCloth and outdoor retailer
Moosejaw. Last year, it bought Elloqui, a women's plus-size fashion
brand.
Walmart has started to unwind some of those investments. Earlier
this year, it folded most of what remains of its Jet.com staff into
its existing operations. Last week Walmart sold ModCloth to an
investor group for an undisclosed price.
Walmart is also looking to spinoff Jetblack, a personal shopping
concierge service launched last year. As of early this summer,
Jetblack was losing around $15,000 per member annually, The Wall
Street Journal has reported.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 07, 2019 15:26 ET (19:26 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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