Report: Walmart eyeing department store chain to ‘anchor’ potential online mall
A potential partnership could give Walmart another way to compete with its rival Amazon.
The discount giant is nearing a deal with Lord & Taylor that would give the department store dedicated space on Walmart’s website. Besides encouraging other brands to follow suit and also come aboard, this move could also be a stepping stone for the discounter to establish Walmart.com as an online mall, according to Fortune.
The partnership would benefit both companies. For Walmart, the Lord & Taylor presence would establish the company’s position as an alternative to Amazon. The brand would also complement the discount giant’s recent acquisitions, Bonobos, ModCloth, Moosejaw, ShoeBuy and online retailer jet.com — all of which could also be featured in the virtual mall.
According to the report, the partnership could also spur website traffic for Lord & Taylor, which described its online volume as “modest” last quarter. Looking ahead, Walmart stores also could be positioned as another distribution channel for shoppers to pick up the department store chain’s online orders.
Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
The strategy rivals similar operations run by Amazon and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which both offer dedicated space to brands on their websites. Such arrangements allow companies to increase traffic to their e-commerce platforms and let retailers boost their online assortment, according to Reuters.
The discount giant is nearing a deal with Lord & Taylor that would give the department store dedicated space on Walmart’s website. Besides encouraging other brands to follow suit and also come aboard, this move could also be a stepping stone for the discounter to establish Walmart.com as an online mall, according to Fortune.
The partnership would benefit both companies. For Walmart, the Lord & Taylor presence would establish the company’s position as an alternative to Amazon. The brand would also complement the discount giant’s recent acquisitions, Bonobos, ModCloth, Moosejaw, ShoeBuy and online retailer jet.com — all of which could also be featured in the virtual mall.
According to the report, the partnership could also spur website traffic for Lord & Taylor, which described its online volume as “modest” last quarter. Looking ahead, Walmart stores also could be positioned as another distribution channel for shoppers to pick up the department store chain’s online orders.
Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.
The strategy rivals similar operations run by Amazon and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which both offer dedicated space to brands on their websites. Such arrangements allow companies to increase traffic to their e-commerce platforms and let retailers boost their online assortment, according to Reuters.