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☆ Why Walmart's quick success in generative AI search should have Google worried
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Michelle Castillo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

During a call with analysts after its February earnings, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon talked about the gen AI search capabilities in its app. As a technology company, Walmart has to experiment a lot, and in the case of adding generative AI search capabilities, there's a very low cost for failure, she said. AI and search, shopping business model shiftsIt's not only Walmart investing in this type of search in the retail sector. Amazon's AI shopping assistant Rufus lets people have a conversation with the platform about what they need rather than just looking for direct items. "Google is anxious is about search in general, and the question this raises is will it be a death by a thousand cuts for Google Search?"

Persons: Doug McMillon, McMillon, Marc Lore, Sucharita Kodali, Kodali, Sergey Brin, Brin, Rufus, Jacob Bourne, Bourne, it's Organizations: Google, Walmart, Amazon, Insider Intelligence, Ikea, Lowe's

Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie & Fitch CEO: The future of retail is small, efficient, omni stores, and they're located where the customer tells us. I get really, really excited about what this means in the operations of the business, using predictive analytics to help us forecast demand. They're worldwide, a zillion stores, and their operations and execution, aside from their merchandising, I think they're always on top of the game. I think you're going to see an interaction with someone in a setting that doesn't look like retail, but looks like a fantastic experience. Nicholas of Sam's Club: Another retail standard that is really going to be important beyond the customer is energy.

Persons: Christina Locopo, Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie, Patrick MacLeod, WWD, Michelle Gass, Levi Strauss, they're, Jens Grede, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Neiman Marcus, there'll, Trina, Patrick T, Fallon, Chris Nicholas, Kara Trent, Levi's Gass, Tom Ward, Erin Black, CNBC Abercrombie's Horowitz, Marc Lore, Mickey Drexler, TikTok, Adam Jeffery, Dave Kimbell, It's, Scott Mlyn, CNBC Neiman's van, you've, Yael Cosset, —, Ulta's, Arturo Holmes, Trent, That's, we've, Kroger's, Abercrombie's Horowitz, I've, Dia Dipasupil, Neiman's van, who's, Lulu, Drexler, Armour's, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Armour Levi's Gass, Emma Grede, Kardashian, Kim, Geoffroy van Raemdonck Patrick Mckleod, Nicholas of Organizations: CNBC, Abercrombie, Fitch, Abercrombie & Fitch Co, Penske Media, Getty, Milken Institute Global Conference, AFP, Sam's, Technology, Walmart U.S, Walmart, New York Times, Navy, WWD, Young, Nike, TJX, Zara, Armour's Trent, Americas, Nicholas of Sam's, Sam's Club Locations: they're, Beverly Hills , California, New York City, America, New York, U.S, Skims, Inditex, Kara, Walmart's

☆ Mojo, a sports-betting startup from Marc Lore and A-Rod that raised $100 million, is cutting 20% of its staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The sports-betting company Mojo is laying off 20% of its staff. The A-Rod and Marc Lore-founded startup had previously announced $100 million in funding. Four people close to the company said Mojo is making a strategic shift toward its B2B business. Mojo, a sports-betting startup whose cofounders include MLB legend Alex Rodriguez and Jet.com cofounder Marc Lore, is laying off 20% of its staff, the company confirmed to Business Insider. A spokesperson for Mojo said the company was not selling its B2C business, but declined to comment on whether there was a strategy shift.

Persons: Marc Lore, Mojo, Alex Rodriguez Organizations: Mojo, Business

☆ Food-delivery startup Wonder Group gets $100 million investment from Nestle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It's also developed high-tech kitchen equipment to speed up and simplify cooking. Prior to Wonder, Lore founded and sold e-commerce startup Jet.com to Walmart for $3.3 billion in 2016. Food-delivery company Wonder Group has gotten a cash infusion from Nestle , as the startup looks to sell high-tech kitchen equipment and prepared ingredients to businesses such as hotels, hospitals and sports arenas. Some of those companies may also want Wonder's kitchen equipment, Lore said. The partnership will start with Nestle making pizza and pasta tailored for Wonder's kitchen equipment, along with selling the kitchen equipment to clients.

Persons: Bobby Flay, José, It's, Lore, Marc Lore, Melissa Henshaw, that's, Wonder, Andrés, Michael Symon, Uber, DoorDash Organizations: Walmart, Amazon, Nestle, CNBC, Kroger, Foods Locations: New Jersey, New York, New York , New Jersey, Connecticut

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) punished its own sellers to limit Walmart's reach as Walmart got into e-commerce, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Like Amazon, Walmart operates a third-party online marketplace, with merchandise from thousands of independent sellers. This, Amazon realized, could result in sellers passing on those savings to customers, the FTC said. To hamstring Jet.com, Amazon removed some third-party sellers' offers from its Buy Box. Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle said the FTC "grossly mischaracterizes" the pricing tool and the company stopped using it several years ago.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, it's, Burt Flickinger, Jet.com, Tim Doyle, Siddharth Cavale, Vanessa O'Connell, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Amazon.com Inc, Walmart, Federal Trade Commission, Jet.com, Amazon, FTC, Jet, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, New York

☆ If Amazon, why not Walmart?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Shopping habits vary widely, however, and the company’s pricing strategies are commonly used, including at Walmart (WMT.N). According to the complaint, if Amazon finds a cheaper product elsewhere, it punishes the seller by removing merchandise from the “buy box,” effectively tanking sales. Thus, the argument goes, Amazon prevents rivals from competing on price. Walmart, which bought Jet.com in 2016 for $3 billion, is also just as discerning when it comes to online pricing. The agency accuses Amazon of stifling competition on price, product selection and quality, and preventing rivals from attracting a critical mass of shoppers and sellers.

Persons: Lina Khan, Andy Jassy, Walton, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Walmart, Amazon, FTC, eBay, Amazon.com, Thomson Locations: United States

☆ Amazon has lost market share for the Prime Day shopping holiday it invented. Walmart is setting itself up for a bigger slice of those sales.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart once again is looking to compete directly with Amazon's Prime Day. In previous years, the company held "Rollbacks and More" events in July to compete with Prime Day, and last year Walmart launched a summer savings event called Walmart+ Weekend which took place just before Amazon Prime Day. Walmart is holding a summer savings event called 'Walmart Plus Week' between July 10 and 13, around the same time as Amazon's Prime Day. "Amazon's Prime Day market share will continue to slip, dropping from 62.0% in 2018 to an expected 59.6% in 2023," the report said. Roots of Walmart-Amazon Prime Day rivalryThe yearly battle over customers between Walmart and Amazon's Prime Day could date as far back as 2015.

Persons: Andrew Lipsman, Lipsman, Marc Lore, Jason Del Rey Organizations: Walmart, Amazon's, Service, Amazon, Intelligence, Insider Intelligence, Target, Jet, Target Circle Locations: Wall, Silicon, Amazon

☆ Walmart gobbled up and spit out e-commerce brands like Bonobos and Moosejaw. Here's what happened to the retailer's jilted exes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart has sold three digital companies — Moosejaw, Bonobos, and Eloquii — this year. In the past few months, Walmart announced it was selling outdoor recreation apparel and gear company Moosejaw, upscale e-commerce apparel company Bonobos, and plus-size clothing company Eloquii. Under Lore, despite big revenue growth, the Walmart e-commerce division incurred major losses, sometimes annually upwards of $1 billion. Here's a look at each of the companies Walmart has offloaded this year. Bonobos, founded in 2007, attracts young, urban customers with its slim-fitting pants, shirts, jackets, and suits.

Persons: Marc Lore, —, Lore, Doug McMillon, Eoin Comerford, Bebeto Matthews, Ben Tobin Organizations: Walmart, Service, Privacy, Lore's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Moosejaw Walmart, Bonobos Walmart, Bonobos, Bebeto Matthews Walmart, WHP Global, Express, FullBeauty Brands Locations: Arkansas, Bentonville , Arkansas, Michigan, Walmart's, New York

☆ Where Walmart's jilted exes are now: what happened to the e-commerce brands it gobbled up and spit out like Bonobos and Moosejaw
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart has sold three digital companies — Moosejaw, Bonobos, and Eloquii — this year. In the past couple of months, Walmart announced it was selling outdoor recreation apparel and gear company Moosejaw, upscale e-commerce apparel company Bonobos, and plus-size clothing company Eloquii. Under Lore, despite big revenue growth, the Walmart e-commerce division incurred major losses, sometimes annually upwards of $1 billion. Recently, Walmart's e-commerce goals have shifted. Here's a look at each of the companies Walmart has offloaded this year.

☆ Walmart sells plus-size clothing brand Eloquii, offloading its third digital brand this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Courtney Reagan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Walmart is selling online apparel brand Eloquii to FullBeauty Brands, marking the retailer's third divestiture of a direct-to-consumer brand this year. The retailer bought Eloquii in 2018 for a reported $100 million, one of numerous digital apparel brands with niche and loyal consumer bases. Fogarty plans for Eloquii to be an anchor in what he calls FullBeauty Brands' "digital mall." After acquiring Eloquii, Walmart created a new brand of inclusive-sized apparel, which the retailer will continue to sell after the divestiture. Walmart's online sales now make up 13% of total annual sales, as of its most recent fiscal year-end, up from 5% in 2019.

☆ Walmart sells Bonobos to WHP Global and Express in $75 million deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Walmart has sold menswear brand Bonobos to brand management firm WHP Global and Express in a $75 million deal announced Thursday. WHP, which took a 60% stake in Express in December, will acquire the Bonobos brand for $50 million, the company said in a news release. In a statement, a Walmart spokesperson said the company decided "it's the right time to sell Bonobos" after nearly six years. Last February, Bonobos launched Bonobos Fielder – a more affordable riff on the original brand that sold athleisure on its website, Walmart.com and select Walmart stores. Bonobos CEO John Hutchinson will become brand president of Bonobos and report to Baxter after the deal closes.

☆ Marc Lore co-founded Jet.com and ran e-commerce at Walmart. Now he's out to prove he can make the delivery of 'fast fine' restaurant food work in NYC.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Instead of using kitchen vans, Wonder is preparing chef-driven meals from a storefront. Lore, who cofounded the e-commerce site Jet.com and sold it to Walmart, had plans to expand Wonder to a fleet of 1,000 kitchen vans. Storefronts can offer consumers up to 30 food brands for delivery from one location, while the van model was limited to two menus per van. ClusterTruck, a Midwest ghost kitchen that controls everything from the food recipes to delivery, is another model similar to Wonder. Still, Lore sees the value of marketing Wonder's food brands on delivery apps.

☆ $1.4 billion Stash just announced its new CEO, who's focused on getting the company in a 'great position' for a potential IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The financial-technology company, which offers investing, trading, and savings features for its 2 million users via a subscription-based model, announced Liza Landsman as its new CEO on Thursday. She succeeds Stash cofounder Brandon Krieg, who is staying at the company as head of business development. When Insider asked Landsman about future plans for Stash — raising more funds, looking to be acquired, or going public — the new CEO honed in on an IPO. Cofounder and former CEO Krieg is stepping into a new position within the company as head of business development. He'll lead the development of a new business-to-business channel that will allow Stash users to access funds on the app through their employers.

☆ Read the 11-page pitch deck a sports-betting startup that has raised $100 million used to get the NFL Players Association to invest
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mojo is an app that lets users bet on an NFL player's performance like it's a stock. See the pitch deck that helped get the NFL Players Association to invest. It also announced in September an additional $25 million in equity and venture debt, with big-name investors including the NFL Players Association. MojoMojo isn't the first startup to bring elements of the stock market to gambling, as the US market grows. "Mojo's sports stock market is really the first of its kind, and we're incredibly excited to join as an investor," Steve Scebelo, president of NFL Players, Inc., said in a statement.

☆ Burger King's owner just opened a delivery-focused food hall where customers can order from Popeyes, Firehouse Subs, and other chains. The company is one of many expanding the ghost kitchen model to r
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Burger King's owner recently opened its first ghost kitchen, or digital food hall, in Miami. And recently, the parent of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International, opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. Wonder is part ghost kitchen, part food delivery van, part meal-kit provider. These ghost kitchens on wheels, outfitted with cooking equipment and chefs, can be hailed through an app. The company, which ended its partnership with Miami-based Reef Technology this year, is not labeling the facility as a ghost kitchen.

☆ Burger King's owner opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. Meet 7 innovative ghost-kitchen startups expanding the multibillion-dollar segment beyond the models developed by CloudKitchens and Reef Te
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-27 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Burger King's owner recently opened its first ghost kitchen, or digital food hall, in Miami. Meet 7 nontraditional ghost kitchen startups. And, recently, the parent of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International, opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. These ghost kitchens on wheels, outfitted with cooking equipment and chefs, can be hailed through an app. The company, which ended its partnership with Miami-based Reef Technology this year, is not labeling the facility as a ghost kitchen.

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