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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

This Is Who Gilt Is Up Against (AMZN)

vente privee

Flash sales leader Vente Privée has just passed 13 million members in Europe, one of their execs just tweeted. By comparison, the US flash sales leader Gilt Groupe says they have "over 3 million" members. So Vente Privée is something like 4 times larger.

(The gap is smaller when talking about revenues: Gilt should do $500 million this year, and Vente Privée $1.5 billion, probably because Americans in general spend more online than Europeans, and Gilt has expanded in other verticals. On the other hand, Vente Privée has been profitable since 2004 and Gilt never.)

But as Vente Privée has just announced its US entry, it shows just what a juggernaut Gilt is up against. Usually when a big tech company enters a startup's turf, the bull's case for the small guy is that the smaller startup will have more expertise and focus than the big guy, and that often turns out to be true.

While that may be true for Amazon's Gilt-killer MyHabit, it just doesn't apply to Vente Privée: the company literally invented the flash sales model and has been perfecting it for going on 10 years now, crushing both startups and big contenders like eBay in the process.

Now, Vente Privée's US venture hasn't even launched yet, and anything could happen. Gilt has certainly built an amazing business over the past few years and has lots of cash in the bank and a world-class executive team. But it's a reminder of just who Gilt is up against now.

Don't Miss: Vente Privée's Founder Explains How He Will Crush His American Copycats (Exclusive Interview) →

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This Is Who Gilt Is Up Against (AMZN)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/ob-t6Nqy5IE/vente-privee-13-million-members-gilt-groupe-2011-5

Monday, May 9, 2011

Gilt Groupe Goes To $1,000,000,000 (AMZN)

Kevin Ryan

After reports and regulatory filings, Gilt Groupe has confirmed to AllThingsD's Tricia Duryee that the company has raised $138 million at a $1 billion valuation.

The round includes existing investors as well as Softbank as a new investor. Softbank, a Japanese conglomerate with a history of backing US startups going into Japan, is also buying half of Gilt Japan, Gilt's successful Japanese arm.

Kevin Ryan, the Founder and CEO of the company, said that Gilt is not yet profitable, and that it's going to use the money to fuel its growth and expand. The company started out a fashion flash sales site but now does travel and has a higher-end Groupon-like service called Gilt City. The next verticals it plans to open up are gourmet food and full-price men's clothing, and Ryan says they plan to enter one or two new verticals per year for the next few years.

The company is going to need the money to fend off Amazon, which launched a competitor called MyHabit, and the biggest company in the space, France's Vente Privée, which is expected to enter the US soon.

Don't Miss: Meet MyHabit, Amazon's Gilt Killer →

For the latest tech news, visit SAI: Silicon Alley Insider. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

Gilt Groupe Goes To $1,000,000,000 (AMZN)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/lE6ySneU7LA/gilt-groupe-raises-money-at-1-billion-valuation-2011-5

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Now Gilt Groupe Wants You To Change Your Password Due To Gawker Hack

Gilt

I just received this email.

As you may be aware, Gawker recently suffered a security breach where passwords of 500,000 of its users were compromised.The list of compromised email addresses and passwords has been published on the Internet. As security is of utmost importance at Gilt we are contacting you as your Gilt email address matches an email address, published in the Gawker list. Please note that we are sending you this email as a precaution.

As many people often use the same password for multiple sites we strongly suggest that you change your Gilt password as well as do so on other sites where the password you have is the same as your Gawker password. You can change your Gilt password by visiting the Account Update page and selecting "Change your password" link.

Please visit the Gilt Security page for our suggestions on how to choose a secure password.

If you have any questions please contact customer support by emailing support@gilt.com or calling 877.280.0545.

Sincerely,
Gilt Groupe

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