Seattle’s Zulily Winds Down Operation, Used “ABC” Method to Liquidate Assets and Pay Off Creditors

Zulily, the women's and children's apparel specialist, announced it will liquidate assets and close down to maximize value for creditors. The challenging business environment and financial instability drove the decision.

Ryan Baker, the vice president of Douglas Wilson Companies overseeing the closure, emphasized the difficulty of the decision due to the challenging business environment and financial instability. Zulily is taking swift action, and customers with pending orders can expect fulfillment or refunds by January 22, 2024.

Zulily's Origin

Established in 2010 by Darrell Cavens and Mark Vadon, Zulily gained attention for its family-oriented products and went public on the Nasdaq in 2013. However, it became private in 2015 after being acquired for $2.4 billion by QVC's parent company, Qurate (previously Liberty Interactive). Facing financial challenges after being acquired by Regent in May, Zulily's CEO Terry Boyle departed in October, and the company revealed layoffs over the year.

In 2019, Zully signed a long-term sponsorship deal with the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders. Being well-known in Seattle's tech scene presence, the deal gained recognition for its assertive advertising on various social media platforms.

Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC)

Zulily has chosen an alternative method to wind down its business instead of filing for bankruptcy. This method is an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC), where the company moves all its assets and business into a trust called Zulily ABC, LLC, and uses the proceeds to pay off creditors.

Zulily, as mentioned on its website, is working to fulfill all pending orders in the next two weeks, aims to cancel and refund orders that cannot be fulfilled, and provides a contact option for customers facing issues with their orders or refunds.

E-commerce Shutdown

Zulily's journey to liquidation resulted in numerous layoffs across multiple states in the past year. In May, the private equity firm Regent acquired the company from its long-term owner, Qurate Retail Group, which also owns QVC and HSN, which are known for their television-based shopping channels.

The company's closure follows the shutdown of the e-commerce website Jane.com, struggling against well-funded competitors like Temu and Shein from China and Amazon.

Zulily claims that Amazon is using anti-competitive tactics to hinder its business. This includes pushing merchants away from Zulily and preventing the platform from offering prices lower than those on Amazon.com. These accusations align with similar claims made by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a September broad antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. Amazon has denied the allegations made by both Zulily and the FTC.

Zulily also deals with claims from vendors stating that the company has not paid invoices or communicated with sellers seeking information. Regarding customer orders, Zulily has tried to fulfill pending orders and anticipates completing most within the next two weeks, as mentioned in their updated website note. For unfulfilled orders, the company is working to cancel and refund them. Zulily has set a deadline of January 22 for these actions and instructed customers to contact their claims agent if they haven't received an order or refund by then.