Walmart Offloads Its Third Digital Brand, Eloquii

During this year, Walmart has divested three direct-to-consumer brands to FullBeauty Brands, including the online apparel brand Eloquii.

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WHP Global and Express acquired Bonobos earlier this month, while Dick's Sporting Goods acquired Moosejaw in February. In 2017-18, Walmart's former chief e-commerce officer, Marc Lore, led an e-commerce strategy that led to the sales decline.

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In 2018, the retailer acquired Eloquii, one of several digital apparel brands with loyal audiences. Developing higher-margin apparel and home merchandise for the retailer's online assortment was the goal. In addition to bringing talent into Walmart, the acquisitions could accelerate its digital transformation efforts.

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A spokesperson for Walmart said in a statement, "Eloquii joins Walmart's portfolio of digitally native vertical brands to offer unique, differentiated products in a segment that is currently underserved but is growing. This includes women's sizes 14+ and offers unique and differentiated products that are both underserved and growing". The Walmart.com website has grown to hundreds of millions of items since it was acquired by Walmart, and we have decided to sell Eloquii right now.

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Eloquii, a plus-size apparel brand based in Vancouver, has been acquired by FullBeauty Brands, a department store chain that has 5 million active customers, for an undisclosed price. Eloquii's co-founder and brand leader Julie Carnevale has been retained as co-owner and executive director of the company. 

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Jim Fogarty, CEO of FullBeauty Brands, told Trade Algo: "Eloquii is very data-driven, and they have a very good feedback loop into their business."

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Fogarty sees Eloquii as a centerpiece of FullBeauty Brands' "digital mall." The profitable company generates $1 billion in revenue each year, a mere fraction of the $81 billion plus-size apparel market. In a statement, Fogarty said he hoped Eloquii would help it gain a foothold with younger consumers, what he called millennials and Gen Zers.

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Upon acquiring Eloquii, Walmart developed a new inclusive-sized apparel brand, which will remain on Walmart shelves once the retailer divests Eloquii.

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Rather than increasing the number of items it offers, Walmart now wants to improve its digital business's financials, according to executives.

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“At the company’s investor day earlier this month, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the company is now less concerned with scaling store pickup and delivery, eCommerce assortment, and eCommerce [fulfillment center] square footage than with executing and improving operating margins.”

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As Lore left Walmart in 2021 after a five-year stint, his contributions led to the retailer making significant improvements in its e-commerce business, including fulfillment operations as well as options and speeds for shopper delivery. There are currently "hundreds of millions" of products being sold online as a result of his efforts, compared to 70 million products sold online in 2003.

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A recent study found that Walmart's online sales now make up 13% of its total annual sales, which is an increase from its 5% online sales a year ago.

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As well as Lore-led businesses that weren't ultimately successful, Walmart eventually bought Jet.com for $3.3 billion, which brought Lore to the retailer, but it later wound down. Jet.com, which Lore founded and brought to Walmart for $3.3 billion, eventually wound down.

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Modcloth, Bare Necessities, and ShoeBuy, all Lore-led acquisitions in recent years, have also been unloaded by Walmart. 

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