If you are an employee of Hayneedle and are skeptical about the company's future after parent company Jet.com was acquired a few days ago, you can breathe easy. Why? Because Walmart's acquisition of Jet.com will not impact Hayneedle - online retailer of homeware - which will remain a distinct entity.
The news comes courtesy of publication Omaha World-Herald, which cites Randy Hargrove, a Walmart spokesman, as its source of information. Hargrove confirmed that Omaha-based Hayneedle will continue to exist as a stand-alone brand after Walmart's purchase of Jet.com.
Moreover, the 400-strong workforce at Hayneedle will not be impacted by the acquisition and the Jet.com subsidiary will not suffer from any job cuts. Even the employees of Jet.com will be safe from any layoffs and "it will be business as usual" per Hargrove.
"The Omaha workforce will not be subject to cuts, nor will those at Jet.com operations in New Jersey and elsewhere, Hargrove said," reports the publication.
For the unfamiliar, as reported by Tech Times on Aug. 8, Walmart acquired discount online retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion, in what is the biggest e-commerce buyout ever. The transaction is composed of $3 billion in cash and $300 million in Walmart shares.
Marc Lore, Jet.com's co-founder, will continue to be on the company's board post the transaction, which is anticipated to close this year after regulatory approval.
Jet.com, on the other hand, has already closed the purchase of Hayneedle, which it acquired in February for $90 million.
Hayneedle started operations in 2002 in Omaha and initially did business as Hammocks.com. Eventually, it branched off into other household furnishing with sites such as SimplyMirrors.com under the NetShops umbrella. In 2009, all the 400-odd websites were combined under the Hayneedle brand.
The current deal between Walmart and Jet.com will see both companies retain separate identities and brands, with the latter maintaining its singular focus on affordability and strategy of low pricing. Jet.com will aid Walmart in providing a slew of products that are curated as Hayneedle continues to exist alongside it.
With this strategy in mind, Walmart believes it will be able to "reach more customers." Moreover, Hargrove is of the belief that by tapping into the existing infrastructure of the mega retailer in tandem with the technology platforms, Walmart will be able to give a fillip to its e-commerce proposition.
Walmart is also looking to imbibe the smart tech deployed by Jet.com, which is effective in lowering prices in real-time by finding mechanisms for cost reduction.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
