Walmart to sell menswear brand Bonobos to Express, WHP Global for $75 million

Express

13/04/2023 22:54

April 13 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc  WMT.N  is selling
menswear brand Bonobos to Express Inc  EXPR.N  and WHP Global
for $75 million. 
    The deal marks the first acquisition since brand management
firm WHP Global, which owns Toys "R" Us and fashion labels such
as Anne Klein and Joseph Abboud, partnered with Express earlier
this year and took a 7.4% stake in the clothing retailer. 
    WHP Global will acquire the Bonobos brand for a purchase
price of $50 million, while Express will acquire the operating
assets and assume the related liabilities of the Bonobos
business for $25 million, the companies said on Thursday.
    Bonobos, which Walmart acquired for $310 million in June
2017, sells menswear ranging from suits and trousers to swimwear
and accessories online. 
    According to web analytics firm Similarweb, Bonobos saw an
average 1.7 million visits to its website over the past three
months where 56.8% of the website's audience were male shoppers.
    Express in March reported a 14% fall in net sales at $514.3
million in the fourth quarter, blaming a slowdown in demand,
with its women's business taking a harder hit. 
    Meanwhile, the retailer's men apparel division posted a
record year, boosting the company's market share in categories
such as denim, knitwear and chinos.
    The deal is expected to close in the second quarter,
following which WHP and Express will enter into an exclusive
license agreement. It will give Express the right to use the
intellectual property acquired by WHP to run the Bonobos
business. 
    Shares of Columbus, Ohio-based Express rose nearly 19% to 80
cents in extended trading. 
    
    
    

 (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta
Agarwal)
 ((DeborahMary.Sophia@thomsonreuters.com;))