Gilt bought by flash fashion sale site Rue La La
The combined company expects to reach about US$1 billion in sales with a total of 20 million customers
Flash sale site Rue La La said on Monday that it will buy rival Gilt from department store chain Hudson’s Bay as it seeks to fortify its presence in the world of online discount luxury.
Hudson’s Bay, which operates Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor among other chains, bought Gilt for US$250 million in 2016, and created Gilt shops inside its discount chain Saks Off Fifth. At the time, Hudson’s Bay touted the deal as a way to rev up its online engine, but it failed to deliver a big benefit.
The terms of Monday’s deal were not immediately disclosed.
The new company will be called Rue Gilt Groupe, though Rue La La and Gilt will still operate their sites independently. The combined company expects to reach about US$1 billion in sales with a total of 20 million customers.
Rue La La is owned by privately held Philadelphia-based e-commerce company Kynetic, which also owns Fanatics and ShopRunner.
In a phone interview, Michael Rubin, executive chairman of Rue La La and founder of Kynetic, said the two businesses complement each other, though Gilt caters to a higher-income shopper.