Media conglomerate Liberty Interactive has acquired e-commerce company Zulily for $2.4bn, a move designed to boost its QVC platform by capitalising on Zulily’s strong mobile presence and young client base.
Zulily mainly caters to women and children and is known for "flash" sales of clothing.
After the completion of the acquisition, Zulily will remain operational from its base in Seattle as a separate consumer facing brands.
The deal is expected to help the Zulily leverage QVC’s global scale, curation, vendor relationships and video commerce while Zulily’s younger customer base, personalisation expertise and ecommerce capabilities will boost QVC.
According to reports, Zulily has been facing tough competition from Rue La La and Amazon.com, which has stagnated the growth of the company.
Around 40% of QVC’s revenue comes through e-commerce, and the deal is expected to help the company bolster its online business by tapping into younger generations who are more likely to make purchases on mobile devices.
QVC president Mike George said: "As the world leader in video and eCommerce retail, QVC is dedicated to reimagining shopping, entertainment and community as one.
"In Zulily, we see a like-minded brand that shares our passion for discovering great products, for delivering honest value, and for building long term relationships with customers.
"Our teams are committed to learning from and inspiring each other and leveraging our platforms in new ways to accelerate growth, serve our customers better, and realize the full potential of both of these extraordinary brands."
