Online Luxury Retailer Gilt Groupe Acquires Boston- and New York-based Daily Deal Site BuyWithMe

Posted by erik devaney



Just two weeks after announcing it would be laying off 100 employees – about half of its workforce – the daily deal site BuyWithMe has been acquired by Gilt Groupe: an online, members-only luxury retailer.

Of the many daily deal sites peddling coupons online, Groupon leads the pack; LivingSocial takes second place; and BuyWithMe (now “BuyWithMe by Gilt”) ranks in a distant third.

Officially, assets from BuyWithMe are being acquired by a Gilt Group subsidiary, Gilt City, which provide limited-time deals on “lifestyle experiences.” Such experiences can include concerts, spas, high-end restaurants and other “cultural offerings.”

“This purchase demonstrates Gilt Groupe’s commitment to making Gilt City a top player in the local-services industry,” said Kevin Ryan, CEO and Founder of Gilt Groupe. “BuyWithMe complements our philosophy of providing premium offers to customers at great prices. We are excited to capitalize on this incredible opportunity to grow our lifestyle positioning.”

“This deal celebrates a tremendous first year for Gilt City, as we look forward to expanding our reach and brand offerings,” said Nathan Richardson, President of Gilt City. “Today’s news allows us to reach more customers with compelling offers. BuyWithMe’s partners, loyal customer base and strong team will be an asset to Gilt City’s existing partners and members.”

The recent acquisition will double the size of Gilt City and allow the deal site to expand within its own ten markets as well as into new markets over the course of the next year. And due to the amount and variety of merchants that BuyWithMe is bringing to the table, Gilt City members will soon be able to benefit from a wider selection of services.

“Gilt Groupe and Gilt City’s approach has proven to be incredibly efficient and effective,” said BuyWithMe CEO Jim Crowley. “We’re excited to join forces by marrying our expansive customer and merchant base, best practices and sales force with Gilt’s prestigious positioning.”

Related posts:

  1. Boston- and New York-based Daily Deal Company BuyWithMe is Saying Goodbye to 100 Employees
  2. Google Strikes Deal to Acquire Daily Deal Service
  3. LivingSocial Offers Daily Deal on Kennedy Tour. Didn’t Know There Was One
  4. Inside FutureM: The Future of Marketing for Small Businesses (and Why it Doesn’t Involve Daily Deals)
  5. Boston-based Online College and Career Planning Company, ConnectEDU, Brings in $10M in New Financing

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Posted by erik devaney on Nov 2 2011. Filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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