Last week, it was revealed that Seattle-based e-commerce company Zulily intends to lay off over 300 employees from its headquarters beginning in February 2024. The Employment Security Department in Washington, DC, broke the news first. Following this news, the company’s official website announced over the weekend that it would be closing down soon and would conclude by organizing a “going-out-of-business sale.” – Zulily’s Final Sale. The decision to close comes amid declining revenue for the online retailer in recent years, as well as its inability to compete with its main competitor and e-commerce behemoth, Amazon.
Meanwhile, according to Geek Wire, the company filed a lawsuit against Amazon because it “has caused Zulily substantial revenue losses and reduced traffic to Zulily’s website” and “denies Zulily the scale necessary to compete in the market” by discouraging appropriate price competition and supplier relationships. On Monday, December 11, the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Zulily, an American e-commerce site, recently announced that it would close its doors and lay off over 300 employees at its Pioneers Square headquarters in Seattle. According to the FAQ on its website, before closing, it will hold a going-out-of-business sale titled “FINAL SALE: All items must go.”
Zulily’s final sale will be non-returnable and non-refundable
Founded in 2009, the company quickly expanded across the United States and, eventually, worldwide. However, it has been incurring revenue losses in the post-pandemic years, resulting in mass layoffs, including the elimination of a few corporate positions.
Not only that, but Kiro 7 reported that the online retailer recently listed many of its office spaces, including one in Belltown, for rent. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, the company’s Northern Nevada distribution center will also close, resulting in additional layoffs.
According to the news source, the e-commerce website even filed a notice with the Nevada State Government earlier this month stating that its Tahoe Reno Industrial Center will be permanently closed on February 7, 2024, resulting in the layoff of 273 employees.
According to the media source, the company also filed a similar Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) in Ohio (Lockbourne distribution center) and Washington (Seattle facility). There will be 274 and 292 layoffs, respectively. For those who are unaware, a WARN requires businesses to notify the state of mass layoffs involving 100 or more employees with at least a 60-day notice period.
According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Zulily’s final sale will be non-returnable and non-refundable. In fact, the official website of the online retailer clearly states that items purchased before December 8, 2023, are eligible for return and refund.
Zulily, founded in 2009 by former Blue Nile executives Mark Vadon and Darrell Cavens, opened its first fulfillment center in Northern Nevada in 2011 with 400 employees. It opened its Ohio facility a year later. It only sold maternity and children’s products back then.
According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, the e-commerce firm later expanded its customer base and began competing with Amazon. By 2013, its estimated value was $2.6 billion, and it had 12.6 million active customers.
It added 1000 new employees to its Northern Nevada facility in 2014 and later added 600 more. It also opened a new distribution center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the same year.
Unfortunately, the company’s revenue has been declining since 2015, and it was purchased by Liberty Interactive-QVC or Qurate for $2.4 billion. However, it continued to struggle and was forced to lay off 500 employees and close the Pennsylvania facility last year.
The company, which was once valued at $7 billion at its peak, was acquired earlier this year by Regent, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, and its current owner. Terry Boyle, Zulily’s CEO, resigned in October 2023, according to Bizbuzz.