Beyond Inc. buys Seattle-based e-commerce marketplace Zulily
Beyond Inc., the Midvale-based owner of online retail companies Overstock and Bed Bath & Beyond, has announced the acquisition of online marketplace Zulily, headquartered in Seattle. The company said the move was designed to further strengthen Beyond’s position in the off-price market. The addition of Zulily will complement Beyond’s suite of brands, including Overstock, which is scheduled to relaunch later this month, Beyond said.
“This acquisition doubles down on our belief in the off-price market and its importance to building our business, improving our margin profile and growing our customer file,” said Marcus Lemonis, executive chairman of Beyond Inc. “Zulily, in combination with our legacy brand, Overstock, will provide our vendors multiple outlets that not only meet customers at various price points, but also offer an additional outlet to improve their inventory turns and financial performance.”
As part of the transaction, Beyond acquires intellectual property assets related to the Zulily brand, including its website and domain names, trademarks, tradenames, customer database, social media accounts, software to run the Zulily website and goodwill associated with the brand, according to the announcement of the acquisition. The transaction excludes all of Zulily’s liabilities, liens and debts. The purchase price was $4.5 million plus acquisition-related costs, funded entirely with cash on hand, Beyond said.
“This acquisition marks a strategic step forward in the transformation and long-term growth of Beyond,” said Lemonis. “We’re excited about the global vendor pool this acquisition opens the door to, driving incremental revenue by reengaging Zulily’s 18 million customers as well as the existing Beyond customer database with significant synergies across product categories.”
The new Zulily site is expected to be fully functional by the end of the second quarter and contribute to Beyond’s 24-month revenue goal without adding any additional incremental fixed expense.
“Bringing the trusted Zulily brand into our asset-light business model allows us to offer furniture and home furnishings, apparel and footwear, jewelry and watches, among other categories that are also core competencies of our off-price Overstock business with flash-sale deal pricing,” said Dave Nielsen, CEO of Overstock.