Walmart offloads second e-fashion brand in days with focus on margins

(Reuters) - Walmart Inc is selling plus-size fashion brand Eloquii Inc just over a week after it agreed to offload menswear label Bonobos, underscoring an effort to improve margins by narrowing focus and building on alternative revenue streams.

The buyer, FullBeauty Brands, did not disclose the size of the deal in its statement on Friday.

Walmart acquired Eloquii in 2018 for a reported $100 million in its push to appeal to younger shoppers through a range of online brands and better position itself against e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc.

Last week, the company said it was selling Bonobos to Express Inc and WHP Global for $75 million, far lower than the $310 million it paid in 2017. It has also offloaded outdoor apparel retailer Moosejaw and women's clothing label ModCloth in recent years.

Walmart has been sharpening its focus on ramping up its businesses including advertising and delivery, to diversify its revenue streams and boost margins as inflationary pressures on consumer spending weigh on the retailer.

The sale of Eloquii will unite the online retailer of apparel starting at size 14 with FullBeauty's portfolio of brands such as Woman Within and Roaman's, which sell clothes in sizes 12 and up.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)