Walmart’s plans for Vizio are beginning to crystalize: By the end of 2025, Walmart plans to convert Vizio into a private label brand that will be sold exclusively at Walmart and Sam’s Club, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. This would mean that Vizio smart TVs will no longer be sold at other retailers, including Amazon and Target.
When it acquired Vizio and its SmartCast Operating System in February 2024 for $2.3 billion, Walmart was clear that the move was intimately tied to its media ambitions: “Our media business, Walmart Connect, is helping brands create meaningful connections with the millions of customers who shop with us each week,” said Seth Dallaire, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer at Walmart U.S. in a statement at the time of the acquisition. “We believe the combination of these two businesses would be impactful as we redefine the intersection of retail and entertainment.”
Not only is private label already a big and growing business for Walmart — more than 20 of its 90 private-label brands generate at least $1 billion in sales annually, according to the memo — but making Vizio’s hardware and advertising capabilities exclusive to Walmart retail channels will help the company fortify and differentiate its growing media empire from that of its competitors.
It’s worth noting that Walmart’s biggest competition in the retail media realm, Amazon, already has its own line of propriety entertainment hardware with its Fire line of smart TVs and streaming devices.
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