zulily.com
What Zulily.com Is (and Was)
Zulily started in 2009 as an American e-commerce site built around daily deals and flash sales. It was founded by two former online retail execs, Darrell Cavens and Mark Vadon, after Vadon’s personal experience with baby shopping made him see an opening in the market. It went live in early 2010 with a focus on children’s apparel and gear, then quickly expanded into women’s clothing, home goods, beauty, toys, and more. (Wikipedia)
The basic idea was simple: Zulily made limited-time offers on a constantly changing set of products — usually for 72 hours — with deep discounts that sometimes ran as high as 70% off retail price. (Zulily)
To support that model, Zulily didn’t hold huge inventories like traditional online stores. Instead it often sold first, ordered later, which helped keep its costs down but also meant deliveries could take longer than shoppers expected. (Shippn)
You could register to shop, or download the app, browse the newest sales (women’s fashion, kids’ clothing, pet gear, home décor, toys), and check out deals that changed daily. (Zulily)
The business quickly found an audience, especially among moms and price-conscious buyers who liked the treasure-hunt feeling of limited deals. Early on, millions signed up and the company scaled rapidly. (Wikipedia)
How Zulily Made Money
Zulily’s revenue came from selling discounted products in these daily sales events and earning margin on the difference between what it paid vendors and what customers paid.
A few key points on the business model:
Flash-sale model: Limited-time events created urgency and encouraged frequent visits. (Shippn)
No huge inventory stockpile (initially): Instead of pre-buying lots of products, Zulily waited until sales ended before ordering from vendors. That helped lower operating costs early on, but complicated shipping and quality control. (Shippn)
Mobile-first shopping: Even years before some competitors, Zulily saw the majority of orders come from smartphones and tablets. (kimarispe.com)
Email newsletters: Daily sale alerts by email drove a lot of traffic back to the site.
At its peak before 2020, Zulily was worth billions. It went public in 2013 with a valuation of $2.6 billion. (Wikipedia)
In 2015, the QVC-owned Liberty Interactive (later Qurate Retail Group) bought the company for about $2.4 billion to add a big online discount channel to its portfolio. (Wikipedia)
What Went Wrong
The ideas that helped Zulily grow also caused problems:
Slow delivery and quality issues.
Because it often ordered stock only after a customer bought a product, shipping times could stretch weeks. Some customers complained about damaged, incorrect, or low-quality items. (Shippn)
Customer fatigue.
Shoppers began to feel overwhelmed or disappointed by frequent deal emails, variable product quality, and the long wait for deliveries. Over time this weakened repeat purchases. (Shippn)
Competitive pressure.
Big players like Amazon and newer discount platforms cut into Zulily’s niche. Amazon’s scale and fast fulfillment made it hard for Zulily to compete on convenience. A lawsuit filed when Zulily was winding down later claimed that Amazon’s pricing policies made competition even harder. (Reuters)
Ownership changes and financial strain.
Qurate sold Zulily to a private equity firm (Regent LP) in May 2023, but within seven months that owner wound down operations amid financial trouble, layoffs, and an inability to stabilize the business. (Wikipedia)
In December 2023, Zulily announced a “going-out-of-business sale” and entered a formal wind-down process called an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC), rather than a bankruptcy. That process liquidated assets and tried to maximize repayments to creditors. (Wikipedia)
By the end of December 2023, the original Zulily site, app, and customer service had shut down. (Wikipedia)
Revival Under New Owners
Even though the original company’s operations ceased, the brand and intellectual property did not disappear.
In March 2024, Beyond Inc. (the parent company of Overstock and Bed Bath & Beyond) bought Zulily’s IP — its name, domain, and customer data — for about $4.5 million. (Retail Dive)
The idea was to blend Zulily’s discount-focused heritage with Beyond’s existing off-price e-commerce channels. (Retail Dive)
Later, in early 2025, Beyond sold a majority ownership stake in the revived Zulily to Lyons Trading Company — the parent of the discount retailer Proozy — while continuing to hold a minority interest. Under this new structure, the brand was relaunched with renewed focus on daily deals in apparel, footwear, home goods, toys, and more. (Grokipedia)
So as of late 2025, Zulily operates again at zulily.com, albeit in a different form from its original incarnation: a leaner business, focused on discounts, and backed by owners experienced in off-price e-commerce. (Grokipedia)
How Zulily Shopping Works Today
The relaunched zulily.com still looks a lot like its old self:
Daily sales and rotating deals on clothing, home décor, toys, and other products. (Zulily)
Offers discounts up to around 70% off on selected brands. (Zulily)
You can browse by category — women’s fashion, kids’ apparel, home goods, beauty, etc. (Zulily)
Because the platform still uses a flash sale-like model, shipping times and return policies may differ from stores that stock everything up front — which is an important practical shopping detail to check before buying. (Top Bubble Index)
Key Takeaways
Zulily.com is an online discount retailer known for daily deals on fashion, home goods, toys, and more. (Zulily)
It was originally founded in 2009 and grew fast with its flash-sale model. (Wikipedia)
Its early model involved selling before buying stock, which reduced costs but led to slow delivery and quality issues. (Shippn)
Legacy Zulily shut down in late 2023 after financial and operational struggles. (Wikipedia)
The brand was acquired and relaunched in 2024 under new ownership, and is active again in 2025 with a focus on deals in multiple categories. (Grokipedia)
FAQ
Is Zulily.com legitimate?
Yes. It’s a real e-commerce platform with a long history, and today it operates under new ownership after being relaunched following its original shutdown. (Top Bubble Index)
Does Zulily still offer flash sales?
Yes — the model still revolves around limited-time deals that change frequently and offer steep discounts. (Zulily)
Are shipping times long on Zulily?
Because Zulily sometimes sources products after sale ends, shipping can be slower than Amazon or other retailers that stock inventory upfront. Always check the estimated delivery before buying. (Top Bubble Index)
Can returns be made on Zulily purchases?
Return policies vary by product and sale. Some items are final sale, and others can be returned for store credit. Always review the policy on each product page. (Top Bubble Index)
Who owns Zulily now?
As of 2025, it’s majority-owned by Lyons Trading Company (parent of Proozy) with a minority stake held by Beyond Inc. after a relaunch of the brand. (digitalcommerce360.com)
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