Gilt Groupe
{{short description|Online shopping website based in the United States}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Gilt Groupe
| logo = Gilt logo.png
| type = Subsidiary
| foundation = 2007
| founders = Kevin P. Ryan, Michael Bryzek, Phong Nguyen, Alexis Maybank, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson
| owner = Rue La La
| location_city = New York City
| location_country = U.S.
| key_people = Jonathan Greller (President)[http://www.gilt.com/company/team Team | Gilt Groupe | About] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407200636/http://www.gilt.com/company/team |date=2012-04-07 }}. Gilt.com.
| industry = E-commerce
| num_employees = More than 1000 Gilt Groupe - Company Overview
| homepage = {{URL|http://gilt.com}}
}}
Gilt Groupe is an American online shopping site launched in 2007.{{cite web|title=Author Series with Alexis Maybank of Gilt Groupe|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3wTTEH0LwI&list=PLDEB831CA452F0230&index=1&feature=plcp |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/E3wTTEH0LwI |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|date=August 7, 2012|publisher=New York Technology Council}}{{cbignore}} In 2016 the company was sold to Hudson's Bay Company for approximately $250 million, which was less than the $268 million taken from investors. Prior to the Hudson's Bay acquisition, sales were exceeding growth projections but the firm had not been profitable yet. In 2018, Boston-based Rue La La acquired Gilt from Hudson's Bay.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40581020/breaking-rue-la-la-acquires-gilt-groupe|title=Breaking: Rue La La acquires Gilt Groupe|last=Segran|first=Elizabeth|date=2018-06-04|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-31}}
History
Gilt Groupe is based in New York City with warehouses in Brooklyn, New York City; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Shepherdsville, Kentucky.
The company was co-founded by Kevin P. Ryan, Michael Bryzek and Phong Nguyen, with Alexis Maybank, and Alexandra Wilson joining shortly after the company's inception;{{Cite web|last=Kucera|first=Danielle|date=June 21, 2011|title=Stilettos Invade Startups as Niche-Shopping Sites Attract Women|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-06-21/stilettos-invade-startups-as-niche-shopping-sites-attract-women|access-date=2020-09-23|website=www.bloomberg.com}} who modeled Gilt after Vente-Privee, an online fashion retailer in France. The original business plan consisted of "flash sales," selling a limited number of luxury designer items at steep discounts for brief periods.
The company launched women's clothing and accessories in November 2007 and menswear in April 2008. It added Gilt Groupe Japan, Gilt Fuse, and travel site Jetsetter in 2009.{{cite news|url=http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2009/09/30/gilt-groupes-jetsetter-takes-off/|title=Gilt Groupe's Jetsetter takes off | work=CNN | first=Jessica | last=Shambora | date=September 30, 2009}} It later added, Gilt City and Gilt Home in 2010 and Gilt Taste in 2011.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/dining/gilt-taste-arrives-with-ruth-reichl-at-the-helm.html |title=Gilt Taste Arrives, With Ruth Reichl at the Helm | work=The New York Times | first=Florence |last=Fabricant |date=2011-05-17}}
In 2009, growth equity firm General Atlantic led a series C funding round, joined by previous investor Matrix Partners.{{cite news|last1=McMahan|first1=Ty|title=Venture Capitalists Prove They Have A Fashion Sense|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2009/07/02/venture-capitalists-prove-they-have-a-fashion-sense/|access-date=16 December 2015|publisher=The Wall Street Journal}}{{cite web|title=Gilt Groupe, Inc. Announces New Growth Capital Investment|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gilt-groupe-inc-announces-new-growth-capital-investment-62201172.html|website=PRNewswire|access-date=16 December 2015}} By February 2014, Gilt Groupe was preparing for an IPO.{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/retail-news/financial/gilt-ipo-puts-eyes-on-flash-model-7449057?src=nl/mornReport/20140213 | title=Gilt IPO Puts Eyes on Flash Model | publisher=WWD | date=13 February 2014 | access-date=13 February 2014 | author=Strugatz, Rachel}}
In 2010, Gilt acquired luxury deal-of-the-day site Bergine.{{cite news | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/10/26/gilt-makes-its-first-acquisition-bergine/ | title=Gilt Makes its First Acquisition: Bergine| newspaper=Wall Street Journal| date=2010-10-26| last1=Fowler| first1=Geoffrey A.}} This was the first of several acquisitions.
According to Business Insider, during its "hyper-growth years, the company overextended itself and lost focus", as the expanded business segments such as "Full-price retail, travel, and food were sucking resources from Gilt's core categories — discounted women's fashion", and Gilt was forced to sell these non-core businesses at a loss. Flash sales companies were also seeing slower growth, thanks in part to e-mail fatigue (the key means for flash sales to be promoted) with e-mail providers increasingly classifying these messages as spam). The IPO kept getting delayed and ending up never happening, while the firm never reached profitability.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} By 2015, Gilt was raising money "at a lower valuation than the $1 billion at which it reportedly raised $138 million in 2011". Such a cash infusion is known as "down round" which hurts employee morale and devalues the founders' stakes.{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/gilt-groupe-story-2015-2|title=Four years ago Gilt Groupe was the hottest startup in New York — Here's what happened|work=Business Insider|access-date=2018-05-23}}{{Cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/12/15/technology/gilt-groupe-hudsons-bay-saks/|title=Has Gilt Groupe hit the clearance rack?|last=O'Brien|first=Sara Ashley|work=CNNMoney|access-date=2018-05-23}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2016/01/20/gilt-groupe-sale-leaves-winners-losers-and-a.html|title=Gilt Groupe sale leaves winners, losers and a cautionary tale|website=www.bizjournals.com|access-date=2018-05-23}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.recode.net/2015/3/16/11560292/gilt-groupes-very-cloudy-future|title=Gilt Groupe's Very Cloudy Future|work=Recode|access-date=2018-05-23}}
On January 7, 2016, Gilt Groupe announced its acquisition by Hudson's Bay Company, owner of luxury department store chains Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue, for $250 million.{{Cite web|title=Gilt Groupe to Announce Sale to Saks Fifth Avenue Owner as Soon as Thursday Morning |url=http://recode.net/2016/01/06/gilt-groupe-to-announce-sale-to-saks-fifth-avenue-owner-as-soon-as-thursday-morning/ |website=Re/code |access-date=2016-01-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107075532/http://recode.net/2016/01/06/gilt-groupe-to-announce-sale-to-saks-fifth-avenue-owner-as-soon-as-thursday-morning/ |archive-date=2016-01-07 }}
In June 2018 it was announced the HBC would be selling Gilt to Rue La La.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rue-la-la-to-acquire-gilt-300659396.html|title=Rue La La to Acquire Gilt|last=La|first=Rue La|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en|access-date=2019-06-18}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/news-briefs/hbc-to-shutter-home-outfitters-chain-up-to-20-saks-off-5th-stores|title=HBC To Shutter Home Outfitters Chain, Up To 20 Saks OFF 5TH Stores - Retail TouchPoints|website=www.retailtouchpoints.com|date=25 February 2019 |language=en-gb|access-date=2019-06-18}}
On October 2, 2019, Gilt Groupe and Simon Property Group announced a joint venture for ShopPremiumOutlets.com, an online shopping platform focused on its outlet malls, to create a new e-commerce platform dedicated to value shopping.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ibj.com/articles/simon-to-invest-280m-in-online-shopping-venture|title=Simon Property to invest $280M in online shopping venture|work=Recode|access-date=2019-10-02}}
Business
Gilt Groupe visitors must be members in order to view sales. Sales last 36–48 hours and feature merchandise from a single brand or small groups of brands. The firm purchases vendor inventory at an extreme discount, adding a margin in order to make a profit. On August 22, 2011, Gilt Groupe added a Facebook shopping section.August 22, 2011 [http://www.internetretailer.com/2011/08/22/gilt-goes-after-facebook-shoppers Gilt goes after Facebook shoppers] internetretailer.com Android and iPhone apps allow mobile shopping, and access is also available for other smartphone and tablet devices.
Book
Penguin Group printed a history of Gilt Groupe in 2012 written by two of its founders, Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson. By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop was published before Gilt was bought out by Hudson's Bay;[https://web.archive.org/web/20120416232331/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-13/gilt-groupe-founders-essential-business-reads Essential Business Reads] Business Week 2012-04-13 At that time the firm was valued at more than $1 billion,Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop Penguin Group, 2012 over four times greater than its eventual selling price.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.gilt.com/}}
{{Hudson's Bay Trading Company, L.P.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilt Groupe}}
Category:Companies based in New York City
Category:Online clothing retailers of the United States
Category:Internet properties established in 2007
Category:2007 establishments in New York City