Online retailer Zulily, once valued at nearly $9 billion, shocked customers by announcing that it would shut down and liquidate its assets, citing a “challenging business environment.”
Zulily “made the difficult but necessary decision to conduct an orderly wind-down of the business to maximize value for the companies’ creditors,” the Seattle-based e-commerce giant announced in a notice on its website.
“This decision was not easy nor was it entered into lightly. However, given the challenging business environment in which Zulily operated, and the corresponding financial instability, Zulily decided to take immediate and swift action,” said the notice, signed by Ryan C. Baker, vice president at management consultant Douglas Wilson Companies, which is handling the receivership for the company.
Before Douglas Wilson completes “an orderly wind-down of the business,” Zulily — known for its “Best Price Promise” on fashion and other household products primarily for mothers and children — said it will fulfill a “vast majority” if its outstanding orders within the next two weeks.
“For orders that could not be fulfilled, Zulily endeavored to ensure those orders were canceled and refunded,” the company added.
The proceedings mark a steep fall from grace for Zulily, which launched in 2010 and went public three years later.
At its peak in 2015, it was valued at roughly $9 billion.
By 2019, it landed a major sponsorship deal with Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders and seemed like it had weathered a competitive storm that gained speed as Amazon and Chinese fast-fashion retailers like Shein and Temu gained market share.
However, Zulily began to falter and in May, its longtime owner, QVC-parent Qurate Retail Group, sold the company to investment firm Regent.
Regent sought to right the company and immediately slashed the company’s headcount and moved its Seattle headquarters to a smaller space.
Then earlier this month, Zulily sued Amazon, alleging the Jeff Bezos-owned e-commerce behemoth “set out to destroy Zulily” by forcing third-party suppliers that do business with both companies to maintain “price parity” for both retailers, according to Forbes.
Zulily claims it pushed the company to raise its prices artificially and to pull its “Best Price Promise” with price comparisons off its website, Forbes reported.
As the company faced a pricey court battle with Amazon, it had to issue a second round of layoffs in early December — just after CEO Terry Boyle announced internally his decision to leave the company, effective Oct. 31.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many jobs Zulily cut over the past year.
Representatives for Zulily and Douglas Wilson Companies did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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