The rumor mill has been swirling about possible retail mergers and acquisitions since Amazon announced its $13.7B acquisition of Whole Foods Market, and Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck is one of the latest experts to fan the flames of speculation regarding future industry consolidation.
In a recent blog post, Glueck singled out Nordstrom as the next retailer to be potentially bought out. Using data pulled from Foursquare’s location intelligence system, Glueck argued that both Walmart and Amazon could have their sights set on a Nordstrom takeover, Retail Dive reports.
The Seattle-based department store retailer has been debating going private for several months. In June, the company announced that six Nordstrom heirs were considering buying 70% of the business for nearly $10B. They currently own 30% of the company.
Nordstrom would be an appealing acquisition for a number of reasons that Glueck outlined, one of which is that it has seen success in both e-commerce and retail. Amazon would likely be interested in the apparel retailer of its similar customer base, Glueck predicts, while Walmart would seek the gains of appealing to an entirely different type of consumer and more broadly expanding its customer base.
The world's largest retailer has been on a shopping spree as of late as it ramps up its offerings to remain competitive during this time of flux. In addition to acquiring upscale men’s clothing brand Bonobos Inc. for $310M in June, Walmart has bought online women’s apparel company ModCloth, ShoeBuy.com and outdoor gear and apparel e-commerce site MooseJaw.
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