Walmart to Sell Vizio TVs as a Private Label
Walmart plans to make Vizio a private-label brand by the end of the year and will sell its smart TVs exclusively at Walmart and Sam’s Club, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg News.
The mass retailer completed its acquisition of Vizio on Dec. 3, 2024. Walmart signed a deal to acquire the company and its SmartCast Operating System for $11.50 per share in cash, equating to a fully diluted equity value of approximately $2.3 billion.
Walmart’s reasoning behind the acquisition was to accelerate its Walmart Connect retail media business in the United States by combining Vizio's advertising solutions business with Walmart’s reach and capabilities.
It explained that the deal would “bring to market new and differentiated ways for advertisers to meaningfully connect with customers at scale and boost product discovery, helping brands achieve greater impact from their advertising investments with Walmart Connect.”
Folding Vizio into its stable of private brands marks Walmart’s latest effort to integrate the business as the company looks to sharpen its edge in the competitive advertising industry, Bloomberg reports. The retailer is bringing Vizio’s operating system to its private-label TV brand onn, as the news outlet reiterates Walmart has been working on making TV a “shoppable” experience, in which consumers can buy items while watching shows.
“Retail media is expected to reach $231 billion by 2030, and we’re still in the early innings, with the U.S. retail media market value at $54.5 billion in 2024, which is about $1 in every $7 spent on ads,” said Michael Jaconi, co-founder and CEO of Button, a New York City-based mobile commerce technology company. “The key to unlocking even more growth is making sure these ad experiences aren’t just another version of traditional display; they need to be commerce-driven, intent-based and seamlessly integrated into the shopping journey.”
Vizio will be among Walmart’s 90 store brands, with more than 20 of them generating at least $1 billion in sales, according to the memo.
This article was originally published on sister brand Progressive Grocer.