Luxury Handbags Arrive At Walmart With New Rebag Deal To Rival eBay Focus Vertical Strategy
Walmart has added tens of thousands of pre-owned luxury handbags, jewelry and watches to its marketplace thanks to a new partnership with resale platform Rebag which began on January 16th.
Rebag's full catalog of about 27,000 items including products from Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Chanel, Gucci, Christian Dior, Saint Laurent, Fendi, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Goyard and more will be available on Walmart.com, coinciding with the launch of a new website section focused on luxury resale.
Director of Business Strategy and Development, Fashion Kinsey Griffin and VP Categories, Michael Mosser announced the partnership and launch of Luxe Resold on LinkedIn, aiming to capture the attention of pre-owned luxury lovers who might not have thought of Walmart as a shopping destination in the past.
But those posts are interesting for another reason - they highlight once again how Walmart continues to take market share in key categories away from eBay, built with a very interesting talent acquisition strategy in mind.
CEO Jamie Iannone rejoined eBay in 2020 (ironically after stints as CEO at SamsClub.com and COO Walmart eCommerce) and has spent much of his tenure at the helm developing what he calls his "high value enthusiast buyer focus vertical" strategy - investing in growing market segments with highly engaged buyer-bases like sneakers, trading cards, luxury fashion and accessories (handbags, watches and jewelry), and auto parts.
Mosser was GM Lifestyle/Media/Toys at eBay from 2015 - 2019 with a stop at Borderx Lab before joining Walmart in 2021 and has apparently wasted no time in assembling a team of largely ex-eBayers to lead Walmart's business development efforts in these same high value categories.
For example, Griffin was previously Head of Business Development Luxury Goods and Fashion at eBay before joining Walmart last year.
eBay also recently lost a cornerstone of their Motors Parts & Accessories team as Sr Partnership US Motors Events Manager (and NASCAR racer) Sarah Burgess left to take on a Senior Management Business Development role in Parts and Accessories for Walmart Marketplace.
Liz Morton
Mosser brokered a deal last year with then CEO of Stock-X Scott Cutler (who coincidentally was VP eBay Americas from 2017 - 2019) to expand Walmart's footprint in the pre-owned sneakers market.
Liz Morton
And Walmart's foray into the trading cards and collectibles market, and their appearance at New York Comic Con in October, also highlighted this talent acquisition trend with ex-eBayers like Bob Means, GM Collectibles Mayank Hajela, Head of Business Development Kohl Perkins, and others showing Walmart is becoming a serious contender in the collectibles space as well.
Liz Morton
Mosser and Means would have had significant interaction in their roles at eBay and it's likely no coincidence that Means joined Walmart just 1 months after Mosser was promoted to the VP Categories position - or that others would follow.
It's all part of Walmart's Resold initiative launched in August 2024, leveraging strategic partnerships with brands and other marketplaces and allowing 3rd party sellers to list used electronics, fashion, auto parts, and more for the first time.
Liz Morton
Looking at Walmart's current business development talent bench, particularly in these key categories, it's difficult not to notice a familiar pattern - one that seems to be repeating with other recent eBay business development exits.
Will eBay's leadership losses be Walmart's gain and secret weapon to win in high value pre-owned categories?
If so, shareholders should have some serious questions for eBay executives and board members about how they allowed such a key part of their business to walk out the door and into the waiting arms of a competitor - just like Scott Cutler did with Stock-X years ago.
