Amazon.com announced November 8 that it has reached an agreement to acquire Quidsi, operator of Diapers.com, Soap.com and the newly launched BeautyBar.com. The deal gives the e-commerce giant additional ways to tap into the female consumer market.
Amazon.com paid $500 million in cash and took on $45 million of Quidsi’s debt to strengthen its offerings of household, beauty and baby products, according to a statement from the company. Amazon bought shoe and apparel retailer Zappos.com last year, and acquired deal-making website Woot.com earlier this year.
New Jersey–based Quidsi’s management team will continue to operate the sites independently, according to Amazon.
“Our plan is to keep doing what we do best,” said David Zhang, director of marketing at Soap.com,
He added that this includes a heavy emphasis on customer service, social media and e-mail marketing to keep the company’s connection with consumers and encourage loyalty. “What’s really exciting for us with this acquisition is now having the knowledge base and the resources to help us do even more of what we do and serve even more customers.”
“This acquisition brings together two companies that are committed to providing great prices and fast delivery to parents, making one of the chores of being a parent a little easier and less expensive,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, in a statement.
Representatives of the two companies could not be immediately reached for comment.
