Gilt Groupe is an American online shopping site launched in 2007.[3] In 2016, the company was sold to Hudson's Bay Company for approximately $250 million, which was less than the $268 million taken from investors. Prior to the Hudson's Bay acquisition, sales were exceeding growth projections but the firm had not been profitable yet. In 2018, Boston-based Rue La La acquired Gilt from Hudson's Bay.[4]
History
Gilt Groupe is based in New York City with warehouses in Brooklyn, New York City; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Shepherdsville, Kentucky.
The company was co-founded by Kevin P. Ryan, Michael Bryzek and Phong Nguyen, with Alexis Maybank, and Alexandra Wilson joining shortly after the company's inception;[5] who modeled Gilt after Vente-Privee, an online fashion retailer in France. The original business plan consisted of "flash sales," selling a limited number of luxury designer items at steep discounts for brief periods.