Helped Acquire New Brand & Drive Explosive Growth through Walmart Channel Expansion

Background

A top global mattress manufacturer had just acquired a leading Amazon-native mattress brand with strong DTC and marketplace traction—but no clear roadmap for scaling beyond Amazon without creating channel conflict.
Key challenges included:

• Brand suppression risk: The acquired brand was successful on Amazon but not positioned for mass omnichannel retail due
• Channel conflict: Expanding to Walmart posed challenges to possibly undercut Amazon performance and retailer trust (or vice versa)
• Retail readiness: Walmart required a new, differentiated formula for success and a clear go-to-market plan
• Execution gap: Internal teams lacked a unified strategy across product development, merchandising, marketing, and operations

The manufacturer needed a soup-to-nuts commercialization strategy—from product creation to merchant pitch to post-launch execution.

Our Strategy

1. Channel Architecture & Brand Mapping

• Positioned the acquired brand as Amazon-native,
• ​Designed a Walmart-exclusive product strategy under a distinct SKU and feature set
• Established clear role definitions for Amazon vs. Walmart to prevent cannibalization

2. Walmart-Exclusive Product Development

• Led end-to-end eCommerce product development:
• Product specs and feature prioritization
• Cost, margin, and price-pack architecture for Walmart 1P
• Differentiation vs. Amazon assortment
• Built a merchant-ready product story aligned to Walmart’s value and scale expectations

3. Merchant Pitch & Retail Sell-In

• Developed the full Walmart 1P pitch narrative, including:
  • Why the product was exclusive and incremental
  • How it avoided channel conflict
  • Financial model and volume ramp expectations
• Supported internal teams through the merchant presentation and approval process

4. Go-to-Market ExecutionWishbone acted as an extension of the operator team to launch and scale:

• eCommerce PDP strategy (content hierarchy, reviews, conversion drivers)
• Review sampling program to seed early momentum
• Advertising strategy across Walmart Connect
• Promotional calendar tied to Walmart retail events
• Ongoing performance optimization post-launch

Results: Efficiency First, Then Scalable Growth

The Results

• Top program started from $0 to $3M GMV in Walmart eCommerce sales in under 12 months
• Rapid velocity and sustained performance post-launch
• Earned a Walmart in-store test based on online performance
• Amazon business protected and maintained via disciplined 1P/3P channel strategy
• Strengthened retailer trust through disciplined channel governance

What started as a complex acquisition challenge became a scalable, repeatable growth engine.