Zulily, a Seattle-based private shopping site for children’s items, has raised $6 million in Series B funding. August Capital led the round, and was joined by return backer Maveron LLC.
PRESS RELEASE
Zulily (www.zulily.com), the leading children’s private-sale shopping site for busy moms, today announced that it has received $6 million in Series B funding led by August Capital, with participation by existing investor Maveron LLC. This latest round brings the total funds raised to date by Zulily to $10.6 million.
Zulily has compiled a strong senior team of retail and e-commerce veterans from Blue Nile, Nordstrom, Provide Commerce/Red Envelope, and Eddie Bauer to build the best private-sale shopping site for busy moms, babies, and kids. The company remains focused on delivering a phenomenal website and superior customer service, and will use the funds to further advance its position as the leading children’s private-sale shopping site.
“Zulily is executing on all fronts and has already amassed a loyal following of savvy moms who value great product and appreciate a great deal,” said Eric Carlborg, partner at August Capital. “In a very short period of time, Darrell and his team have turned Zulily into the private sale category leader for busy moms. The company is on its way to become a great consumer brand and we’re thrilled about our investment in Zulily.”
“Zulily has established an impressive track record of innovation and customer momentum since our initial investment in late 2009,” said Dan Levitan, co-founder and partner at Maveron. “Children’s e-commerce is a big market and it’s clear that Zulily is the leader in the children’s private sale category.”
By signing up for Zulily’s free daily online service, busy moms are saving an average of 50-70 percent off retail prices of the most popular and up-and-coming boutique brands for babies, kids, and maternity. The limited-time-only deals are promoted to Zulily’s members via an email every morning. Since supply is limited and is typically only available for 72 hours, members quickly check the deals before they sell out. They are also encouraged to share the deal with their friends to receive a $10 credit on their next purchase, giving boutique brands immediate viral marketing access to reach busy moms on the Web, email, Twitter, and Facebook.
“Zulily is at the forefront of a profound shift in the way busy moms discover and purchase higher-end boutique brands online,” said Darrell Cavens, CEO of Zulily. “Not only are we providing the best deals, but we’re also offering a whole new way for baby, kid, and maternity boutique brands to get national distribution without having to worry about securing big box retail space. It’s a huge win for both consumers and brands.”
About Zulily
Zulily is changing the children’s retail market with
invitation-only access to the most unique and sought-after children’s
boutique brands at discounts of up to 70 percent off retail. Based in
Seattle, WA and formed by retail and ecommerce veterans from Blue Nile,
Nordstrom, Provide Commerce and Eddie Bauer, the Zulily team helps busy
moms find the highest quality apparel, gear and other goodies for moms,
babies and kids, including popular brands such as Graco, Melissa &
Doug, and Flora and Henri to unique brands such as Baby Nay, Kate Quinn Organics, and Lex Modern. For more information, please visit www.zulily.com and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
About August Capital
August Capital was founded in 1995 to invest in companies differentiated
by technical innovation and entrepreneurial excellence. To date, the
August Capital funds total $2.0 billion. August Capital’s partners have
more than a century of combined venture experience and together have
invested in more than 80 companies across the technology spectrum. These
companies represent an aggregate market capitalization of well over
$250 billion and generate in excess of $75 billion in annual
revenue. The partners at August Capital were the earliest investors in a
number of ground breaking technology companies including Microsoft,
Intuit, Seagate, Silicon Image, Sun Microsystems, Skype, Compaq,
Symantec, Sybase, Atheros, Postini, Cobalt, shopping.com, PayCycle,
Grand Junction and many more. August Capital is located in Menlo Park,
California. For more information, please visit: www.augustcap.com.
About Maveron
Maveron is a leading venture capital firm founded by Dan
Levitan and Howard Schultz with offices in Seattle and San Francisco.
Maveron’s mission is to help exceptional entrepreneurs build great
consumer businesses. Current representative Maveron investments include
fast-growing consumer companies, such as Zulily, Potbelly Sandwich
Works, Pinkberry and LiveMocha, and powering technology companies such
as VideoEgg. Monetized investments include eBay, Capella Education
Company, Shutterfly, Cranium (acquired by Hasbro), Qsent (acquired by
TransUnion), Good Technology (acquired by Motorola) and lucy activewear
(acquired by VF Corporation). Maveron has approximately $750 million
under management and 22 active portfolio companies nationwide. For more
information about Maveron, visit www.maveron.com.