Walmart Sells Two More E-Commerce Brands in Digital Reshuffle

(Bloomberg) -- Walmart Inc. is divesting two more of its online brands, continuing its strategy of jettisoning some of the digital assets it has acquired in recent years to focus on its main website.

The world’s biggest retailer is selling footwear website Shoes.com to private-equity firm CriticalPoint Capital, while lingerie brand Bare Necessities will be acquired by Delta Galil Industries Ltd., an Israeli apparel maker that also owns the 7 for All Mankind denim business. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The divestments follow Walmart’s sale of indie apparel brand ModCloth in October, and its decision earlier this year to shutter the Jet.com e-commerce site. After acquiring various brands and sites in recent years, Walmart’s U.S. online business now wants to simplify the shopping experience and better compete with Amazon.com Inc.

“The number of customers we’re serving in these categories on Walmart.com, along with the corresponding sales volume, is very different than before each acquisition,” Walmart said in an e-mailed statement.

Walmart isn’t currently considering selling any of its remaining e-commerce sites, a roster that also includes men’s apparel seller Bonobos, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans. It could also have its hands full on the acquisition front as it pursues a bid with partner Microsoft Corp. for the U.S. operations of the TikTok app.

Walmart will continue to sell items from Bare Necessities and Shoes.com through its third-party marketplace site, which carries products from a wide variety of merchants. Delta Galil separately announced it was acquiring Bare Necessities Aug. 25.

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