Jet.com's New Private Label Grocery Brand Is Walmart's Latest Hit On Amazon

When Walmart (NYSE:WMT) bought e-commerce up-and-comer Jet.com last year for $3.3 billion, it was the beginning of its seemingly relentless digital and online initiative, as the retailer gained Jet founder Marc Lore as its new CEO of Walmart eCommerce U.S.

Following this acquisition, Walmart has scooped up upscale menswear company Bonobos, Modcloth.com, Moosejaw, Shoebuy.com, and Hayneedle.com, all companies who largely operated online. There’s even talks that Walmart could buy online cosmetics retailer Birchbox.

All of these companies together create quite a retail arsenal, and combined with its grocery division, makes Walmart one of the few companies able to successfully compete with Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) .

Walmart and Amazon have steadily become arch-rivals since the Jet acquisition, and even more so once Amazon completed its purchase of upscale organic grocer Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM). But according to a New York Post report, Jet is preparing to launch its very first private-label grocery brand, most certainly a response from Walmart now that Whole Foods’ popular 365 brand is available through AmazonFresh.

The brand, called “Uniquely J,” will have more than 60 food and household items like coffee, olive oil, laundry detergent, and paper towels, and the label is set to debut in the coming months. Jet said that the brand will be tailored towards “young urban adults,” which is not a demographic Walmart is known for interacting with.

Uniquely J will be exclusive to Jet.com for the first year, but will then be available on Walmart.com and could even be sold in Walmart stores, said the Post’s sources familiar with the plan. Right now, Jet.com is selling Walmart’s own private-label brands like Equate, Great Value, and Sam’s Choice, though those labels aren’t hitting the mark with the site’s younger customers, added the Post.

This move comes soon after Walmart announced an interesting addition to its grocery game. America’s largest brick-and-mortar will soon be testing a service in Silicon Valley that delivers groceries to your home and unloads them for you straight to your refrigerator—even when you’re not home.

Private labels can be huge revenue boosters for retailers. Costco (NASDAQ:COST) is known for its hugely popular Kirkland brand, while Target (NYSE:TGT) has seen financial performance improve recently thanks to its in-house brands. Then there’s Aldi, whose entire inventory is almost private-label brands, and some of them are even award-winning. The Exquisite Collection Côtes de Provence Rosé finally came to the U.S., and at $8 a bottle, likely sold out fast at some locations.

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