Amazon to close unprofitable Quidsi, parent of Diapers.com

March 30 (UPI) -- Amazon said it is shutting down unprofitable Quidsi, which included Diapers.com and Soap.com, after purchasing the company for $500 million in 2011.

A total of 263 people will lose their jobs at Quidsi's headquarters and customer service operation in Jersey City, N.J., according to a New Jersey state filing Wednesday. But some can apply for new positions with Amazon, Bloomberg reported.

"We have worked extremely hard for the past seven years to get Quidsi to be profitable, and unfortunately we have not been able to do so," an Amazon spokeswoman told CNBC in a statement. "Quidsi has great brand expertise and they will continue to offer selection on Amazon.com; the software development team will focus on building technology for AmazonFresh."

AmazonFresh is a delivery service available for groceries and other everyday items in more than 20 markets. Earlier this week, Amazon announced it will open two stores in Seattle, where the company is based. Customers can order products online and pick them up at the stores.

Quidsi's goods will still be sold on Amazon.com, a spokeswoman told CNBC. Other sites that were part of Quidsi were Wag.com (pets), BeautyBar.com (luxury beauty), Yoyo.com (toys) and Casa.com (home goods).

"Consumables like soap and pet food are often priced very competitively by retailers in order to drive price perception and ultimately drive online and in-store traffic," Guru Hariharan, chief executive of retail technology company Boomerang Commerce, said to Fortune. "While unfortunate, the shutting down of the Quidsi sites isn't completely surprising."

Quidsi was founded in 2015 by Marc Lore, who then started Jet.com as a competitor to Walmart. Jet.com was recently acquired by Walmart for approximately $3 billion in cash and Lore is now CEO of Walmart's e-commerce division.

"I'm not sure which is more unpleasant -- changing diapers, paying too much for them, or running out of them," Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said in 2010 after his company acquired Quidsi. "This [acquisition] brings together two companies who are committed to providing great prices and fast delivery to parents, making one of the chores of being a parent a little easier and less expensive."

On Tuesday, Amazon announced plans to acquire Souq.com, the largest online retail platform in Arab countries for an undisclosed amount.