Jet Becomes Authorized Apple Reseller

Apple

Jet, the online retailer owned by Walmart, announced Wednesday (May 9) that it is now part of Apple‘s authorized reseller program.

According to a report in 9to5Toys, Jet becoming an authorized Apple reseller is huge for its online battle against Amazon. The source noted that Jet will be selling the full suite of Apple products while Amazon only sells a few products. Walmart has long been an authorized reseller of select iPhones, iPad, and Apple accessories.

The report noted that, late last year, 9to5Toys heard Walmart would start selling MacBooks and iMacs at its retail stores as part of a bigger deal to expand Apple’s footprint at the retailer. The partnership with Jet implies those plans are still going forward.

The deal with Apple comes a few months after Recode reported that Liza Landsman, president of Jet.com, moved on to a new job at a different firm. Reports at the time indicated that Landsman was looking for a change of pace after three frenetic years working to build Jet.com from startup to wholly-owned Walmart subsidiary. Landsman had previously headed marketing at E*TRADE.

The Jet acquisition was seen as a talent grab, as well as a real estate expansion on Walmart’s part, as various Jet setters have gone on to take leadership positions at Walmart’s emerging fleet of digital brands, including Shoes.com, Moosejaw, ModCloth and Bonobos. Jet Co-founder and former CTO Mike Hanrahan is overseeing Walmart’s “Project Kepler” to build a competitor to the cashier-less Amazon Go stores, Recode previously reported.

In March, Jet.com named Tesco’s Simon Belsham as the new president. “There are so many ways technology can change retail and be a force for good in our lives,” Belsham said at the time. “In my view, there is no business better positioned to take advantage of the opportunity ahead than the combination of Walmart and Jet.”