Re:Ask HN: How did employees do after the Jet.com acquisition?
by edblarney on Wednesday March 08, 2017 @04:51PM
(#13824195)
"Walmart didn't have technology as a core competency"
Wallmart has absolutely amazing tech as a 'core competency'. You don't deliver more goods than anyone on planet earth without this.
But it was ops-ish. Not 'e-commerce-ish'.
Also - there is no 'acquihire' for billions. Surely some people are worth a lot, but even if he was worth that much, it's not within Wallmart DNA to do that.
Jet.com is a 'working infrastructure of direct e-commerce' that Wallmart surely sees as the future, and what is missing from their tech.
Imagine if they could graft Jet ops, into the Wallmart beast - it would make them Wallmart + Amazon type thing.
Which makes sense, even at high valuations. Wallmart business is so massive, that if anything can help them push out into more e-commerce domain, it's worth it.
The surplus in valuation is due to strategic alignment, not so much some 'op knowledge' that will increment revenues by x%.
Amazon is an existential threat to Wallmart, and the 'game is on' to win people buying online, so this was a weapon they bought.
Wallmart has absolutely amazing tech as a 'core competency'. You don't deliver more goods than anyone on planet earth without this.
But it was ops-ish. Not 'e-commerce-ish'.
Also - there is no 'acquihire' for billions. Surely some people are worth a lot, but even if he was worth that much, it's not within Wallmart DNA to do that.
Jet.com is a 'working infrastructure of direct e-commerce' that Wallmart surely sees as the future, and what is missing from their tech.
Imagine if they could graft Jet ops, into the Wallmart beast - it would make them Wallmart + Amazon type thing.
Which makes sense, even at high valuations. Wallmart business is so massive, that if anything can help them push out into more e-commerce domain, it's worth it.
The surplus in valuation is due to strategic alignment, not so much some 'op knowledge' that will increment revenues by x%.
Amazon is an existential threat to Wallmart, and the 'game is on' to win people buying online, so this was a weapon they bought.