Think of it as a response to, but the reverse of, the Amazon-Whole Foods strategy. One year after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. bought Jet.com, the online home goods retailer is launching a premium private label brand, including many groceries, the Wall Street Journal reported in late September.
Over the next two months, the website, for which Wal-Mart paid $3.3 billion, will start selling about 60 food and household products under the Uniquely J brand. Most will be more premium than the products Wal-Mart sells in its stores. Baby, beauty and pet products will be added later, the Journal reported.
A spokeswoman for Jet.com told the Journal the products are designed with the “metro millennial consumer” in mind. They will include coffee, olive oil, laundry detergent and paper towels, she said.
In reverse, Amazon is boosting its private-brand selection. It added Whole Foods' organic brand 365 to its online offerings immediately after that acquisition at the end of August. Associated Press reported Amazon.com has sold about $1.6 million in Whole Foods store-brand products in the first month since taking over the organic chain.
The Journal also reported Jet.com it has retreated a bit on delivering fresh food to homes, eliminating the service from areas like Fort Bragg, N.C., while remaining in large urban centers like New York City.
