Walmart has announced its acquisition of online intimate apparel seller Bare Necessities.
The deal will see Bare Necessities CEO and Co-founder Noah Wrubel join Walmart as the head of the intimates category across Walmart.com and Jet.com; he will also continue to run the Bare Necessities business. The announcement also noted that over time, Bare Necessities goods will begin to make an appearance on Jet.com and Walmart.com.
Founded 20 years ago in 1998, Bare Necessities stocks over 100,000 SKUs from more than 160 brands, according to a blog post by Denise Incandela, head of fashion for Walmart U.S.
“Intimates, a category that has been aggressively growing online, has complex sizing and highly specialized products. Bare Necessities will bring deep category expertise, a content offering designed to educate intimates shoppers, as well as strong brand relationships and operational capabilities,” she wrote.
Though Bare Necessities will be officially joining the Walmart family, its standalone site will continue to operate.
The move follows a series of efforts by Walmart to expand and enhance its eCommerce and specialty retail offerings. Other recent moves have included the exclusive launch of the EV1 line with Ellen DeGeneres, its digital partnership with Lord & Taylor and its acquisition of plus-sized retailer ELOQUII.
“The acquisition of Bare Necessities fits well into our broader acquisition strategy, which includes two different types of companies: 1) category leaders with specialized expertise and assortment that can help enhance the customer experience on Walmart.com and Jet.com (think Hayneedle, Moosejaw and Shoes.com) and 2) digital brands that offer unique products customers can’t find anywhere else (think Bonobos, ModCloth and the recently-acquired ELOQUII). Bare Necessities fits into the former,” Incandela wrote.
The deal closed Friday (Oct. 12). The price of the acquisition has not been disclosed.
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