Woolworths Group has confirmed today that it will close the MyDeal customer website by September 30 this year.
The move comes months after the Catch marketplace was shut down by Wesfarmers.
According to Woolworths Group, the move is expected to help shift the team’s focus towards its Big W Market and Everyday Market offering, amid growing competition in Australia’s marketplace space.
It is also set to allow the group to leverage its “strong traffic growth” on existing digital properties.
“MyDeal has brought marketplace expertise and leading technology to the group’s marketplace platform, Woolworths MarketPlus, enabling rapid GMV growth,” Woolworths Group CEO Amanda Bardwell said. “However, given the intensely competitive environment and the superior economics of marketplaces integrated into retail brands, we have made the decision to close the MyDeal customer website.
The closure of MyDeal is set to bring a “meaningful reduction” in Woolworths MarketPlus operating losses once completed.
“Woolworths MarketPlus will continue to leverage the MyDeal technology platform, seller relationships and capabilities to grow the group’s Big W Market and Everyday Market retail banners.
“We would like to thank Sean Senvirtne and the MyDeal team for their hard work and contribution to Woolworths Group in establishing Woolworths MarketPlus.”
The cash cost of closure is expected to be $90 - $100 million, including a payment for the remaining outside equity interest under existing put and call arrangements as well as redundancies. Woolworths did not share how many redundancies this will be. According to Glassdoor, MyDeal has around 50 to 200 employees.
Non-cash costs from the closure will primarily relate to the impairment of MyDeal's assets of approximately $45 million.
Woolworths Group will provide a further update on the one-off costs associated with the closure of MyDeal at its FY25 results in August.
MyDeal was founded by Sean Senvirtne in 2011.