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Walmart Site Down For Remodeling
from the not-a-good-sign dept
Almost exactly a year ago I posted something saying that Walmart seemed pretty clueless when it came to their online store. Someone responded saying they were "close to" what was happening inside and promised it would be revolutionary and that we would all be impressed. They finally launced the site in January (two months late) and now, just nine months later, they're closing it down for a few weeks. That can't be a good sign. Apparently, whatever the revolutionary plans were from a year ago, they didn't catch on all that well.
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I applied
WalMart, decided quite some time back, to completely gut and rebuild their online site. As part of that project, they opened an office in Palo Alto, where the entire operation would be done.
The company is operated as a joint venture between WalMart, and a VC company, from what I remember.
My assumption is, that the closure of the old site, is so they can convert over to the new improved site that was under construction months ago.
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Re: I applied
It's a joint venture with Accel Partners. No matter what's going on elsewhere, completely shutting down a site for "a few weeks" is a bad sign. There are plenty of ways to prepare a new site without having to shutter the old one. The thing that surprises me the most is how much people predicted that the new site (the one they launched in January) was going to be revolutionary. This, by the way, was after they had announced that their *original* site would be revolutionary. So, this is their third time saying they're going to launch a revolutionary site, and I just don't believe them at all. Let them prove me wrong. I'd be happy to see a really revolutionary site that people liked, but I don't believe the hype.
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Re: I applied
Ironically, Wal-Mart seems to have no problem making money hand over fist in their traditional, old-fashioned way, by selling lots of stuff to people in retail stores. Meanwhile, most online retailers of mundane, small-ticket items seem to be in a competition to spend money and go out of business the fastest. (Think drugs*.com, pets*.com, webvan, kozmo, etc.) Perhaps the hare and tortoise fable applies here.
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Just to add one more :)
The reason that I was looking for a position, and applied with WalMart.com, was that my previous employer Gazelle.com, had cratered. Add that one to your list of small, cheap item verndors over the net, that are now a corpse. 12 mil, in 9 months, and nothing to show for it.
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Re: I applied
I agree completely, that shutting the old site, to transition over is a bit silly. But on the plus side, it probably does make fulfillment cleaner. There's a clear line of demarcation of when the products are shipping from the old company, and when the new joint venture is responsible.
I talked to a friend that does work there, and the shutdown is so they can transition the site.
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