- Walmart's CEO of US e-commerce, Marc Lore, has reportedly purchased a penthouse in an ultra-luxury building in Manhattan for $43.8 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The building is known for being an enclave of celebrities due to "paparazzi-proof" features like a lower-level parking lot protected by iron gates.
- The move comes as Walmart focuses more on city dwellers with its e-commerce operations, like the recently announced initiative Jetblack, a personal-shopping service targeted towards "time-strapped urban parents."
Walmart's head of US e-commerce, Marc Lore, reportedly just splashed out for a large slice of Manhattan real estate.
Lore recently paid $43.8 million for a penthouse in 443 Greenwich Street, a luxury development in Tribeca, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that cited two sources familiar with the deal. The penthouse is one of eight in the building, and each carried a high price tag.
The building has become something of a haven for celebrities thanks to it its "paparazzi-proof" features, which include a lower-level parking garage and interior courtyard. The building has reportedly attracted celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Justin Timberlake.
Lore's planting roots in New York City shouldn't come as much of surprise. The startup he founded, Jet.com, is located just across the river in Hoboken, New Jersey. Walmart bought Jet.com for $3.3 billion in 2016. Lore then took on the role he plays now as head of Walmart's US e-commerce operations, which has focused more on cities lately.
Jet.com's focus on urban millennials and Walmart's New York launch of its $600-a-year personal-shopping service, Jetblack, are just a few examples of how the retailer is thinking seriously about courting customers who live in big cities. In 2017, Walmart also acquired Bonobos, which is based in New York and has a largely city-based clientele.
A spokesperson for Walmart declined to comment on Lore's reported purchase.
Let's take a look around the building:
Sarah Jacobs contributed reporting to an earlier version of this article.