Wal-Mart plans to acquire Art.com, an online household goods retailer, and the value of the deal has not been disclosed. Marc Lore, head of Wal-Mart's US e-commerce business, said the company may have more than 40 local digital brands in the future.

This is another digital brand acquired by Wal-Mart. Since spending about $3 billion in 2016 to acquire Jet.com, the retailer already has a range of e-commerce companies ranging from apparel to lingerie, including ModCloth, Moosejaw, Bonobos, and Eloquii. This strategy has helped Wal-Mart attract young customers who are not used to shopping in the store.

Wal-Mart said that Art.com is one of the world's largest online sellers of art and wall coverings. A person familiar with the matter said the size of the acquisition is similar to other recent Wal-Mart deals, with Art.com's recent annual sales exceeding $300 million.

Wal-Mart said that products from Art.com will eventually be sold on Walmart.com, Jet.com and Haypinle.com. It will continue to run Art.com as a standalone website that says it has about 2 million designs to choose from and is growing.

Wal-Mart has begun adding some of the acquired brands to its website. For example, outdoor supplies company Moosejaw now has its own store on Walmart.com.

Wal-Mart also reached an agreement with Lord & Taylor to sell the clothing of the department store chain on the Wal-Mart website to attract younger customers, something that Wal-Mart's traditional brands could not do.

It is also eager to realize its potential in technology, and the acquisition of art.com should help achieve this goal. Anthony Soohoo, senior vice president of Wal-Mart's US online home business, said: "When we think about the future, art will be an area in which we use augmented reality."

He said that currently 25% of Art.com customers are using a feature on the ArtView platform. On this platform, shoppers can see what it looks like when a picture is hung on a wall before buying. Suhu said that Wal-Mart could "utilize this augmented reality technology" in other business categories in the future.

The transaction is expected to be completed early next year.

Wal-Mart is also starting to build its own online brand, one of which is the Allswell brand, which was launched earlier this year and sells bedding and mattresses. It has its own website AllswellHome.com.

（Source：jjgle.com）