Overstock wins bid for 3B home furnishing giant, what does it mean for it?

It is learned that on June 22, the US 3B home giant, which filed for bankruptcy in April, submitted documents to the court showing that Overstock won the bid for its intellectual property and some digital assets with a bid of US$21.5 million. On June 27, a hearing in the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court will decide whether to approve the acquisition.

It is reported that if the acquisition is approved, Overstock will receive a series of digital assets from the 3B home furnishing giant, including intellectual property, domain names and mobile platforms, as well as business data, including supplier lists, transaction histories and customer contact information of 3B shopping websites.

For Overstock, the acquisition has more advantages than disadvantages, whether it continues to operate the 3B platform as an e-commerce platform or redirects its traffic to its own website. After the announcement, Overstock's stock price also rose significantly.

Since last year, Overstock has focused 100% of its product line on home and furniture categories, and home furnishings are an important part of its brand reshaping. 3B is a 50-year-old brand, and obtaining a bid for its intellectual property and assets is very meaningful to Overstock from a brand perspective.

In addition to Overstock, two other parties have been flagged as backup bidders for specific assets, with Jowa Brands LLC bidding for private label bedding brand Wamsutta and Ten Twenty Four Inc bidding for Beyond.com. BuybuyBaby will hold a separate auction process on Wednesday, with multiple parties, including registration service Babylist, expressing interest in its digital assets or physical stores.

Daniel McCarthy, a professor at Emory University, said that shopping websites and mobile platforms may be the main drivers of purchase prices, and data including search behavior, promotional strategies and consumer preferences are the icing on the cake. Overstock can use this data to expand its audience, send more direct mail or understand shopping habits to provide reference for its new strategies.

It is worth noting that Overstock's acquisition of the 3B home giant does not include its physical assets, and no buyer has emerged to take over the physical stores. After closing 400 stores last year, there are only about 360 stores left. As the bankruptcy court prepares to deal with unexpired leases, the remaining stores are being advertised at discounts of up to 70%.

The huge scale of physical stores is one of the advantages of 3B home giants, and these stores have an unparalleled effect on promoting impulse purchases compared to e-commerce channels. Therefore, even if the acquisition is completed, Overstock can only take over a small part of the 3B market share.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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