Re:Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats
by wldcordeiro on Friday June 04, 2021 @10:17PM
(#27401360)
Jet was an acquisition though. I get they tried to keep some of its "upscale" shine but they eventually shuttered it for their own online offering.
Re:Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats
by mike_d on Saturday June 05, 2021 @01:04AM
(#27402376)
It was an aquihire. "Jet" itself was an empty shell that the Walmart marketing folks could build a higher end brand inside.
The shuttering happened because the website was racking up seven-figure monthly Azure bills and bringing in five-figure revenue. Marc just couldn't figure out how to drive traffic without all his domains he sold to Amazon (soap.com, diapers.com, etc).
That is just the store you went to. The company crunches tons of data before they decide on store placement, and grouping like-shoppers by socioeconomic status is absolutely a goal. My hometown for example - one side of town has a Walmart that is very run down and exactly as you describe, while on the other side of town the Walmart looks like an upscale Target on the inside and an REI on the outside.
They tried the "upscale" brand online with Jet.com and it was an absolute failure. Amazon owns almost all of the non-price-first shoppers and Marc Lore doesn't know how to run a business without oversight.