According to sources familiar with the matter, retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is in advanced talks to acquire fashion retailer Bonobos.
by StockNews.com
Recode broke the story late Friday, noting Bonobos would be the latest in a retail spending spree for the company:
The deal would mark at least the fourth e-commerce acquisition by Walmart digital chief Marc Lore since Walmart acquired his company Jet.com seven months ago. Those include:
- women’s online retailer ModCloth,
- outdoor gear seller MooseJaw
- and online shoe site ShoeBuy.
Lore also bought online furniture retailer Hayneedle while Jet.com was still independent.
New-York based Bonobos could fetch well over $300 million in a sale. The company was valued at that number when it raised $55 million back in 2014, and reportedly has between $100 and $150 million in annual revenue.
Founded in 2007, Bonobos began as an online-only retailer making dress pants for men with athletic builds. Since then, they’ve expanded substantially to include dress shirts, suits, and outerwear. Its products are also sold through Nordstrom, which is an investor in the company.
Bonobos has also opened nearly three dozen brick-and-mortar fitting showrooms, which it calls Guideshops, in the past few years. Customers cannot buy clothing off the rack at these locations, but they can get fitted and then place online orders to be delivered to their homes.
…Year-to-date, WMT has gained 6.61%, versus a 4.47% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
WMT currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 21 stocks in the Grocery/Big Box Retailers category.
