Walmart offloads Bonobos unit in $235m fashion flop

BLOOMBERG

Walmart Inc agreed to sell its Bonobos menswear line to WHP Global and Express Inc for $75 million — $235 million less than what the retail giant paid for the business in 2017.
WHP, owner of such brands as Anne Klein and Joseph Abboud, will pay $50 million for the  Bonobos brand, according to a statement. Express, which is partly owned by WHP, will acquire the Bonobos operating assets and related liabilities for $25 million.
The deal adds to a list of fashion flops for Walmart, which has a record of acquiring apparel businesses only to offload or shutter them later. In 2020, the company announced the sale of its footwear website, Shoes.com. The previous year, it announced the sale of ModCloth, a women’s fashion apparel business.
“Bonobos joined the Walmart family to expand our assortment and expertise in menswear,” Walmart said in an email.
“Since acquiring Bonobos, Walmart.com has grown from 70 million to hundreds of millions of items. After nearly six years, we’ve decided it’s the right time to sell Bonobos.”
Andy Dunn, who founded Bonobos in 2007 as a website, initially oversaw the brand following Walmart’s purchase of it, but left the retail giant in 2019.
Walmart has pruned away other businesses with online origins like Bonobos. In February, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company agreed to sell Moosejaw, a retailer of outdoor gear and apparel, to Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc.
Walmart had purchased Moosejaw in 2017 for about $51 million. Terms of the sale weren’t disclosed.
The Bonobos deal is expected to close this summer. John Hutchison, the head of Bonobos, will stay on as brand president and report to Tim Baxter, chief executive officer of Express.