Amazon Shuts Down Quidsi, Announces It Will Buy Retailer SOUQ.com

Amazon is reportedly shutting down its Quidsi division, which owns Diapers.com and Soap.com, according to Bloomberg. The move comes a few years after Amazon acquired Quidsi for $545 million in 2011.

Amazon said it wasn’t able to make Quidsi profitable.

“We have worked extremely hard for the past seven years to get Quidsi to be profitable, and unfortunately we have not been able to do so,” Amazon said in a statement. “Quidsi has great brand expertise and they will continue to offer selection on Amazon.com; the software development team will focus on building technology for AmazonFresh.”

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The shutdown of Quidsi will leave more than 260 employees without jobs in June. However, some of them will be able to apply for other jobs with Amazon. Meanwhile, Amazon announced Wednesday plans to open up its 10th fulfillment center in Texas, which will create 1,000 full-time jobs.

Amazon To Purchase SOUQ.com

Before Bloomberg reported Amazon would shut down Quidsi, Amazon announced Tuesday it reached an agreement to acquire SOUQ.com, a Middle-Eastern e-commerce company. SOUQ.com offers more than 8.4 million products across 31 categories on its site and attracts over 45 million visits per month.

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"Amazon and SOUQ.com share the same DNA – we’re both driven by customers, invention, and long-term thinking,” said Amazon senior vice-president Russ Grandinetti in a statement. "SOUQ.com pioneered e-commerce in the Middle East, creating a great shopping experience for their customers. We're looking forward to both learning from and supporting them with Amazon technology and global resources."

The deal is expected to close this year, Amazon said.