Ideel
{{short description|American online retailer}}
{{Infobox company
| logo = Ideel Logo.jpg
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_alt = Logo for Ideel Inc.
| logo_caption =
| caption =
| type = Subsidiary
| foundation = {{start date and age|2006}}
| defunct =
| location_city = New York City
| location_country = United States
| locations =
| area_served =
| key_people = Lisa Kennedy{{cite web|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/ideeli-becomes-ideel-2014-08-14|title=ideeli Becomes ideel|website=MarketWatch|access-date=3 January 2019}}
Saurabh Sharma
Alain Demour
Simon Black
Sarah Liebel
Cecelia Myers
| industry = E-commerceE-commerce
| products = Apparel & Home
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
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| equity =
| owner =
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| parent = Groupon
| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = {{URL|www.groupon.com/occasion/ideel|www.groupon.com/occasion/ideel}}
| footnotes =
| intl =
}}
Ideel, formerly ideeli, is a flash sale based online retailer based in New York City.{{cite news
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/business/worldbusiness/17iht-ecom.1.8777903.html
|title = Ideeli sounds alert for discounted luxury items
|author = Tedeschi, Bob
|date = November 17, 2007
|work = The New York Times
|url = http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-11-17/ideeli-fashion-bargain-site/51275578/1
|title = Ideeli flash-sale site sells high fashion for less
|author = O'Donnell, Jayne
|date = November 17, 2011
|work = USA Today
}}
History and Operations
Founded in 2006, its $77M in revenue in 2010 led Inc. to rank it as the fastest growing company in the United States for 2011.{{cite web | url=http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/ideeli | title=Ideeli -- New York, NY -- INC 5000 | publisher=Inc. | access-date=July 18, 2012}} In August 2012, Ideeli moved from Soho to the 45th floor of the New York Times Building.{{cite web | url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120613/REAL_ESTATE/120619966 | title=Ideeli's Times has come | publisher=Crains | work=Crains New York Business | access-date=July 18, 2012}} It has raised $70M in venture capital funding.{{cite web | url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/04/28/flash-sales-site-ideeli-raises-41-million/ | title=Flash Sales Site Ideeli Raises $41 Million | publisher=Tech Crunch | access-date=July 18, 2012}}
Ideel's business model is based on acquiring excess or sample merchandise and selling it quickly at very steep discounts to their members. Sales typically last less than 48 hours.{{cite web | url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201109/inc-500-paul-hurley-ideeli-americas-fastest-growing-company.html | title=The Fastest-Growing Private Company of 2011 | publisher=Inc. | access-date=July 18, 2012}} In 2014 they rebranded themselves as a source for affordable designer clothing.
In January 2014, Groupon bought Ideel for $43 million.{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/business-news/mergers-acquisitions/groupon-inks-43m-deal-for-ideeli-7354298?src=nl/mornReport/20140114 | title=Groupon Buys Ideeli for $43 Million | publisher=WWD | date=14 January 2014 | access-date=14 January 2014 | author=Clark, Evan}} At some point the name became ideel, dropping the final 'i'.