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Walmart’s Doug McMillon: “Jet brings a unique approach and technology that puts customers in control of their experience.”
BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart has finalized its $3.3 billion acquisition of e-tailer Jet.com.
The discount store giant said late Monday that with the closing of the deal, which was announced in early August, Jet.com founder and chief executive officer Marc Lore becomes executive vice president at Walmart and president and CEO of Walmart e-commerce in the United States.
Lore will lead Walmart.com and Jet.com, reporting to Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon. Plans call for Walmart.com and Jet.com to operate as separate brands and to leverage technology and talent across both entities.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the Jet.com team to the Walmart family and excited to expand the ways we serve our current customers and reach new customers online,” McMillon said in a statement. “Jet brings a unique approach and technology that puts customers in control of their experience, helping them find additional ways to save.”
Walmart completed the transaction after the expiration of the waiting period under federal regulations. Under the agreement, Walmart is paying Jet.com about $3 billion in cash, part of which will be paid over time, and $300 million in Walmart shares, paid over time.
Walmart said the news of the deal’s closure was first shared by McMillon on Instagram in a posting with a photo of a Jet.com T-shirt. “I’ve been waiting a month to put on this shirt. Today is the day. Happy to officially welcome Jet.com to the Walmart family!” McMillon said in the post.
Along with top-notch technology, Jet.com has a expanding customer base of urban and Millennial customers, with more than 400,000 new shoppers added monthly and an average of 25,000 daily processed orders, Walmart noted.
“I can’t wait to jump in and get started,” Lore stated. “I’ll be spending a lot of time with the team in the coming weeks and months focused on scaling Walmart.com and Jet.com, building on our solid foundations. Together, we will be stronger and move even faster to reimagine the future of shopping.”
Walmart.com has become the second-largest online retailer by traffic in the United States, McMillon said in a blog post on the Jet.com acquisition. In the previous six months, Walmart.com has expanded from 7 million items to over 15 million, and it’s adding about another million monthly, he said. The retail giant also has improved fulfillment for online purchases, building what McMillon described as “an impressive fulfillment network that uses mega-sized fulfillment centers” and Walmart stores to speed the delivery of orders to customers.
“We’re in the business of ‘saving people money so that they can live better.’ But the value of our customers’ time cannot be overstated,” McMillon said in the blog. “To win the future of retail, we must save customers both money and time. By combining with Jet.com’s technology, shopping experience, customers and talent, we will do exactly that.”
