The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Online flash sale site Rue La La, which counts eBay as an investor, is exploring a sale that could value the company at around $400 million, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Boston-based Rue La La, which has attracted interest from online shopping site Gilt Groupe, has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to advise a potential sale, the people said. Representatives for Rue La La and Gilt Groupe did not immediately respond to requests for comment. JPMorgan declined to comment.
Founded in 2008, Rue La La was acquired for $350 million by e-commence and marketing services company GSI Commerce, which was bought three years later by eBay. EBay divested 70 percent of its Rue La La ownership into a new holding company but still retains a minority stake.
Rue La La focuses on selling high end fashion brands at big discounts to members in limited-time sales events. So-called flash sale sites, including Gilt, ideeli, One Kings Lane and HauteLook, were especially popular during the recession, though their popularity has waned recently. In January, Groupon Inc acquired ideeli, which had raised over $100 million in funding, for less than half of that value.
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One Kings Lane, which focuses on home decor, said in June it had cut 15 percent of its workforce. Design-focused site Fab.com also announced major layoffs in May.
Analysts have pinned the sector's decline on the reduced availability of high-quality merchandise, as manufacturers have scaled back production. A few sites still hope to buck this trend.
Gilt is planning an initial public offering for later this year, people previously told Reuters.
By Liana B. Baker, Olivia Oran; editor: Leslie Adler.
The app, owned by TikTok parent company ByteDance, has been promising to help emerging US labels get started selling in China at the same time that TikTok stares down a ban by the US for its ties to China.
Zero10 offers digital solutions through AR mirrors, leveraged in-store and in window displays, to brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Coach. Co-founder and CEO George Yashin discusses the latest advancements in AR and how fashion companies can leverage the technology to boost consumer experiences via retail touchpoints and brand experiences.
Four years ago, when the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok in the US, its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. worked out a preliminary deal to sell the short video app’s business. Not this time.
Brands are using them for design tasks, in their marketing, on their e-commerce sites and in augmented-reality experiences such as virtual try-on, with more applications still emerging.