Wayfair Exits German Market

The US-based online furniture retailer Wayfair has announced its withdrawal from the German market after 15 years and plans to cut approximately 730 jobs globally – around three per cent of its workforce. This decision is part of a strategic realignment, focusing on other growth areas and the brick-and-mortar retail sector.

According to Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah, the company’s expansion in Germany has been unsuccessful due to weak economic conditions, low brand awareness, and a limited product offering. In an internal statement, he explained: “Scaling our market share and improving our unit economics in the German market have proven to be challenging.” The company intends to allocate its resources more effectively as a result.

The job cuts primarily affect employees in warehouses, customer service, and corporate roles. CFO Kate Gulliver highlighted that around half of the affected employees could remain with the company if they were willing to relocate to locations such as London or Boston. For the restructuring, Wayfair plans to incur costs of up to 111 million USD.

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