(Updates with further details in paragraphs 2, 4, 5, background in paragraph 3)
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers
said on Tuesday its e-commerce retailer, Catch, will cease to operate as a standalone business in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
Wesfarmers, Australia's biggest non-food retail group, said it would transfer Catch's e-commerce fulfilment centres to Kmart Group while select digital capabilities developed in Catch will be transferred to Wesfarmers' retail divisions.
The company acquired Catch Group for about A$230 million ($144.26 million) in 2019 to boost the small online footprint of its retail units such as Kmart and Target.
"Wesfarmers expects to record one-off costs associated with the wind down and transition of Catch of between A$50 million and A$60 million, to be included in the results for the second half of the 2025 financial year," the conglomerate said in its statement.
"The recent increase in competitive intensity in the Australian e-commerce sector has affected Catch's financial performance and growth prospects," said Wesfarmers' managing director, Rob Scott.
($1 = 1.5944 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Rod Nickel and Diane Craft)
((Shivangi.Lahiri@thomsonreuters.com;))
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.