Bolt’s Fanatics Partnership Goes South, Adding to Growth Woes

Bolt, the checkout startup that rocketed to an $11 billion valuation during the pandemic e-commerce boom, is embroiled in another legal battle with a high-profile retail partner: sports apparel company Fanatics, which signed a deal in 2022 to offer Bolt’s speedy payment buttons across several of its e-commerce sites.

Fanatics filed a lawsuit in California court earlier this month claiming that Bolt improperly reneged on its contract. In the complaint, the apparel business claims Bolt “unjustly enriched itself” by touting the deal in the press and to customers, and Fanatics is seeking damages that include any profits Bolt realized from the partnership. The previously unreported dispute is the latest setback for Bolt, whose growth has stalled. Bolt’s revenue totaled $19.4 million for the nine months that ended in October 2023, essentially flat from the same period a year earlier, according to financial details shared with investors earlier this year.