Amazon cancels iRobot acquisition / Temu to permit U.S. and European sellers / Babies R Us expands to Mexico

Plus, Target to widen wellness offering

Inside Ecommerce

For January 30, 2024

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Here are today's top e-commerce news stories:

Amazon canceled its deal to acquire iRobot.
Temu will allow U.S. and European sellers onto its marketplace.
Babies R Us will launch stores and an e-commerce site in Mexico.
Target is expanding its wellness category.
World's most valuable retail brands in 2023.
Luggage and handbag design company Vera Bradley will join TikTok Shop.

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Amazon canceled its planned acquisition of iRobot. The e-commerce giant said on Monday that there was "no path to regulatory approval."

More:

Amazon announced its intention to acquire iRobot for $1.7B in August 2022.
- Amazon said in July 2023 that it would lower the deal price by 15% after iRobot took on more debt.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 18 that the EU Commission planned to block the acquisition deal.
Amazon agreed to pay iRobot a fee of $94M for terminating the deal.
iRobot said it plans to lay off 31% of its workforce and announced the departure of its CEO, Colin Angle.

Temu will open its marketplace to U.S. and European sellers. The platform, owned by PDD Holdings, is known for marketing cheap apparel from China to consumers in Western countries.

More:

Temu will open its marketplace to U.S. sellers on March 15 and plans to permit European sellers sometime in the future, according to reports in China.
Goods sold by U.S. and European sellers will be distributed from warehouses in those regions.
The platform has over 100,000 China-based merchants, according to Marketplace Pulse estimates.
"Many of the business details are still in the process of being finalized," Temu said.

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Babies R Us will launch operations in Mexico. The brand was revived after WHP Global acquired a controlling stake in its parent company, Toys R Us, in 2021.

More:

WHP entered a royalty partnership with El Puerto de Liverpool.
The Mexican omnichannel retailer will operate Babies R Us in the country.
The first Mexican Babies R Us store is expected to start operations in the second half of 2024.
WHP and Liverpool plan to launch an e-commerce platform and open more physical locations.

Target plans to expand its wellness offering online and in-store. The retailer announced last week that it will offer 1,000 new products in the category.

More:

The new portfolio will be overseen by Rick Gomez, who recently became Target's chief food, essentials and beauty officer.
The products will target price-conscious shoppers, with prices starting at $1.99.
Target's wellness-themed lineup range s from apparel to vitamins and its new online wellness destination includes meal ideas and deals.
"Wellness has been redefined to encompass a more holistic way of living," said Gomez.

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What the numbers say: Amazon's brand was worth $174.9B in 2023, according to the Kantar BrandZ ranking, making it the world's most valuable retail brand that year. The Home Depot came in a distant second place and Walmart clinched third.

U.S. brands dominated the Kantar BrandZ 2023 ranking. Chinese e-commerce giants such as JD.com and Pinduoduo ranked relatively low on the list despite their strong revenue streams.

Brand value is a measurement based on the assumption that well-known brands can generate more revenue and profit than lesser-known ones. The metric should not be mistaken for brand equity.

Vera Bradley will join online video-based e-commerce platform TikTok Shop. The handbag and luggage design firm seeks to activate old customers and expand its customer base.

More:

Vera Bradley has gained organic attention on TikTok despite not posting on the platform, chief marketing officer Alison Hiatt told Digital Commerce 360.
Videos with "#VeraBradley" have reportedly accumulated about 105 million views.
The brand intends to spend more on influencer marketing this year than it did in 2023.
Vera Bradley generated net revenue of $337.5M during the nine months ended October 28, down from $352.9M in the same period a year earlier.

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Gregory Bridgman

Writer / Editor

Gregory Bridgman is a politics and e-commerce researcher with a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He also holds a Master of Science from University College London and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Cape Town. Feel free to follow him on Twitter or drop him an email at gregory@inside.com.

This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia

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