The company was co-founded in 2007 by Kevin Ryan, Michael Bryzek, and Phong Nguyen, with Alexis Maybank, and Alexandra Wilson joining shortly after the company’s inception.
The founders 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 a brief period.
According to Business Insider, during its “hyper-growth years, the company overextended itself and lost focus”, as the expanded business segments such as “Full-price retail, travel, and food were sucking resources from Gilt’s core categories — discounted women’s fashion”, and Gilt was forced to sell these non-core businesses at a loss.
In 2016, Hudson Bay acquired Gilt for $250 million.
Gilt filed for an IPO in November 2021 but it seems stalled due to the company’s failure to turn a profit.
The Simon Property Group gave Gilt a much-needed cash boost of $280 million to launch an online outlet e-commerce store.
Gilt.com maintains a corporate office in New York, New York.
The company was co-founded in 2007 by Kevin Ryan, Michael Bryzek, and Phong Nguyen, with Alexis Maybank, and Alexandra Wilson joining shortly after the company’s inception.
The founders 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 a brief period.
According to Business Insider, during its “hyper-growth years, the company overextended itself and lost focus”, as the expanded business segments such as “Full-price retail, travel, and food were sucking resources from Gilt’s core categories — discounted women’s fashion”, and Gilt was forced to sell these non-core businesses at a loss.
History
In 2016, Hudson Bay acquired Gilt for $250 million.
Gilt filed for an IPO in November 2021 but it seems stalled due to the company’s failure to turn a profit.
The Simon Property Group gave Gilt a much-needed cash boost of $280 million to launch an online outlet e-commerce store.
Gilt.com maintains a corporate office in New York, New York.