Quick Biz Bite: RueLaLa.com Sold!

Remember the dot-com era of the early 2000s? It seemed like everyone and their neighbor had a dot-com company. And as quickly as your neighbor was making money, you were losing it. But, there are stars amongst the dot-com businesses, Etrade is still around, and even if it is a love-hate relationship…Yahoo! Is still here.

The dot-com business model has been taken a step further and in a new direction, especially in regard to the fashion world recently. Do you remember 2001? It was as recent as 2001 that we didn’t have private sale sites and we were relegated to Ebay, and actually gasp, going outside to bargain shop! But, alas, geniuses like the founders of Vente-Privee.com, a French owned private sales company burst on to the scene. And now the site is worth more than $1 billion dollars!

Hoping to literally “cash in” on this success, sites like my faves, Hautelook.com, Billiondollarbabes.com, and Gilt.com have popped up offering quick hit sales with names ranging from Ali Ro to William Rast.

One of the most popular private sale sites is RueLaLa.com. And today, the sites success has become more than just a story in a fashion magazine like Elle, In Style, Vogue, or even People. It was announced that GSI Commerce, which manages sites such as Toys “R”Us and Zales, is buying Retail Convergence the operator of the site. The purchase is valued at as much as $350 million dollars. (Check out Toys “R”Us and Zales to see what may be in store for Rue La La as far as a new site layout…)

Wow. That’s a lot of money! A lot of money that could be spent at one of those sites!

For more info on the purchase check out The New York Times Article