American supermarket chain Walmart is allegedly interested in web shop Jet.com, which would mark a huge step in Walmart’s efforts to compete with Amazon even more.
Onerous eCommerce division
Walmart has been investing into eCommerce for several years, but that division has been onerous for 9 quarters in a row. It may now look to Jet.com, which positions itself as an Amazon competitor, to turn the tide.
However, many analysts feel this may not be the right road to take for Walmart, fearing the company may pay too much for the acquisition. Only last year, founder Marc Lore managed to attract more than 100 million dollars from investors and the company as a whole is already valued at more than 1 billion dollars.
Pull out of China
Lore also runs Quidsi, a group of online stores where parents could buy stuff for their children. The group managed a 300 million dollar turnover in 2010 and sold the company to Amazon in 2011.
Walmart recently decided to pull out of China’s online market, selling Chinese Yihaodian to JD.com in exchange for a 5 % share in the company. JD.com is China’s second largest online player, trailing Alibaba.
