Walmart (WMT) is expected to lose at least $1 billion this year in its e-commerce division and may sell off money-losing units as the retail giant struggles to compete with Amazon (AMZN), according to a new report published on Wednesday.
Vox’s Recode cited multiple sources claiming Walmart’s efforts to challenge Amazon are falling short, leading to internal strains and a push to curb losses in its e-commerce division. The unit is projecting losses of over $1 billion on revenues between $21-22 billion, Vox reported.
According to the publication, Walmart is frustrated with Jet— an online shopping site it purchased for $3.3 billion back in 2016. The mounting losses have put CEO Marc Lore on the hot-seat with the company’s leadership, the report said.
Walmart’s board of directors and CEO, Doug McMillon, want Lore and his online business to cut losses, Vox reported. They are also reportedly upset by the credit Lore’s division has received in the media and on Wall Street about Walmart’s huge online grocery shopping growth.
Besides improving internal tensions, Walmart will look to sell at least one of its three fashion brands that was bought under Lore: Bonobos for $310 million, Eloquii for $100 million and ModCloth for less than $50 million. All three businesses are unprofitable, Vox’s report said.
Walmart declined to comment on the story to Yahoo Finance.
The company, which is a retail powerhouse in its own right, has seen its stock rally to new 52-week highs near $112. That move came on the heels of strong quarter in which online sales skyrocketed 43%.
Although Walmart is bolstering its online shopping offerings, it’s been in a long battle to ward off the disruptive effect of Amazon, to little avail.
Lore is reportedly in favor of adding more fulfillment warehouses to aid in the delivery process. Walmart has no more than 20 warehouses currently while Amazon has 110.
Source: Yahoo Finance
Posts
