Walmart Inks $225M Deal for Cornershop Inc.

Judith McKenna

Walmart Inc. of Bentonville announced Thursday that it will acquire Cornershop Inc., an online marketplace for on-demand delivery from supermarkets, pharmacies and specialty food retailers in Mexico and Chile, for $225 million.

Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected by the end of the year.

Walmart said this deal is an important step forward in accelerating its ability to provide consumers with different methods of shopping and its growth in Latin America.

This follows Walmart’s recent investment in Dada-JD Daojia in China and its alliance with Rakuten in Japan. 

Since buying Jet.com for more than $3 billion two years ago, Walmart has been bolstering its online business by acquiring brands like Bonobos and ModCloth. It’s working to speed up delivery to compete better with Amazon, and is expanding same-day grocery delivery tool.

The retailer’s international strategy has been to refocus on areas with big growth potential like India and China. In May, it acquired a controlling stake in Flipkart, India’s largest online retailer, for $16 billion in its biggest acquisition yet. 

“We are focused on making life easier for customers and associates by building strong local businesses, powered by Walmart,” Judith McKenna, president and CEO of Walmart International, said Thursday in a news release. “Cornershop’s digital expertise, technology and capabilities will strengthen our successful businesses in Mexico and Chile and provide learning for other markets in which we operate.

“This is an opportunity to leverage both of our brands, as well as Walmart’s strong supply chain and store network. Combining Cornershop’s innovative, crowdsourced delivery platform with Walmart’s unique assets will allow us to accelerate growth for both companies, delighting our customers by saving them both time and money. We are excited to welcome Cornershop to the Walmart family.”

Cornershop will remain an open platform. Its three founders — CEO Oskar Hjertonsson, COO Daniel Undurraga and CTO Juan Pablo Cuevas — and their teams will continue to lead the business.