Walmart sells plus-size Eloquii as it continues to shed DTC brands

Walmart’s selling spree continues.

The retail giant is selling women’s plus-size brand Eloquii to FullBeauty Brands. It is Walmart’s third divesture of a direct-to-consumer brand this year and comes one week after the retailer agreed to sell menswear brand Bonobos to Express and brand management firm WHP Global. 

In February, Walmart sold Moosejaw to Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Walmart acquired Eloquii in October 2018. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but at the time Recode put the deal at $100 million.

Eloquii was launched in 2011 online by The Limited, but was later shut down as part of a company restructuring. With the help of former employees and an investor, the brand relaunched as an independent, vertically integrated e-commerce business specializing in on-trend fashions for women sizes 14 and above.  Although Eloquii did enter physical retail and went on to open a handful of locations, it currently is online only, with no brick-and-mortar stores. 

The acquisition will allow FullBeauty to further expand its presence in the $81 billion women’s plus-sized sector in the U.S., which is growing three times faster than the broader women’s apparel market. Eloquii will join FullBeauty Brands’ portfolio of online plus-size apparel, shoes and swimwear brands that includes OneStop Plus, Catherines, Roaman’s and more. It will be an anchor tenant in the company’s new “digital mall,” which will target the younger diverse demographic that is attracted to Eloquii’s on-trend offerings.

"This strategic acquisition complements our brands perfectly and allows us to leverage our scale and platform to support Eloquii and our shared mission, and thereby accelerate our growth with this important demographic,” said Jim Fogary, CEO, FullBeauty. “Our approach was critical to our recent successful acquisition and integration of Catherines and will be here as well.”

The Eloquii team, headed up by Julie Carnevale, co-founder and brand leader, will join FullBeauty.

“We're thrilled to become part of this great company and to have found a partner that supports our vision for Eloquii," said Carnevale. “With FullBeauty's scale and platform, more customers will learn about Eloquii as we continue to provide our existing customers with the great products and exceptional service they've come to expect from us."

The FullBeauty Brands family of  fashion websites includes OneStopPlus, the world’s first and largest online shopping destination for plus-size women, Catherines, WomanWithin, Jessica London, Roaman’s, SwimSuitsForAll, Ellos, Active For All, Shoes For All, Intimates For All, KingSize, Brylane Home, and FullBeauty Outlet.