United States’ biggest offline retailer, Walmart is set to acquire plus-size direct-to-consumer fashion brand Eloquii, which was at first a part of The Limited (an American apparel company) and then relaunched in 2014 as an online retailer.
The amount or the financial details of the deal have not yet been disclosed by any of the parties involved.
The move by Walmart is being termed as a counter step against Amazon, its biggest arch-rival in the US online retail business. Notably, Eloquii, which sells apparel in sizes 14 to 28, is a trend-driven brand and will add value to Walmart’s digital vertical.
Seeing the increasing size of the plus-size market, the acquisition seems to be a good move. According to NPD Group, Americans had spent US $ 21.4 billion on women’s plus-size garments in 2016. The market is further expected to grow at an average of 4 percent till 2020.
Further, the acquisition will reinforce Walmart’s position in the US apparel retail market. As stated by Coresight Research, Walmart ranks No. 1 in the apparel and footwear market. Amazon remains the second-most-shopped retailer.
In the past 18 months, Walmart has made a number of acquisitions. Recently, Moosejaw, Bonobos. Allswell and ModCloth were purchased by the retailer to attract more fashion-savvy customers.
