You are hereFlash Sales Site Ideeli Raises $41 Million
Flash Sales Site Ideeli Raises $41 Million
Flash sales site Ideeli, which was founded in 2007, has raised $41 million in Series C funding led by Next World Capital with Cue Ball Capital, StarVest Partners, Constellation Growth Capital and Kodiak Venture Partner participating in the round. This bring’s Ideeli’s total funding to nearly $70 million
With over 4 million members, ideeli offers 50 to 70 percent discounts on clothing and accessories over a several day period. The sales are private, available only to members, with upcoming sales from brands announced via emails. Products include clothing for men, women and children as well as jewelry, handbags and home accessories.
Ideeli also recently expanded into travel and daily deals, similar to Gilt Groupe’s Gilt City deals. Ideeli says that the new financing will be used for category expansions, partnerships, technology enhancements, marketing campaigns, attracting talent and enhancing the Ideeli member experience.
The flash sales space has been showing both big venture raises of late. One of the leaders in the space, Gilt Groupe, has been raising huge amounts of money, growing its user base at a rapid pace and turning a strong profit. In December, Gilt raised another $15 million, bringing the company’s total funding to nearly $100 million. At one point Gilt was valued at $400 million and an IPO could be in the near future.
One Kings Lane, which focuses on using the flash sales model for home accessories and furniture, has also recently raised a large round. And Ideeli competitor HauteLook (which also has 4 million members) was just acquired by Nordstrom for $270 million.
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Beyond the Rack, a members-only sample sale site, has raised another round of funding today. The startup has just announced a $12 million round of funding from Highland Capital Partners and BDC Venture Capital. This brings the Beyond The Rack’s total funding to $16.5 million.
Flash sales site HauteLook has raised $31 million in Series C funding, led by Insight Venture Partners. The startup previously raised $10 million in Series B funding last year.
Vente-Privee, the European flash sales giant, has announced a joint venture with American Express to bring the site to the U.S.
Flash sales sites like Gilt Groupe have proven to not only be a popular e-commerce experience, but also a profitable business model. In fact, Gilt is on track to hit $450 million in revenue this year, with rumors of an IPO swirling. But while Gilt pioneered clothing and accessory-focused flash sales, One Kings Lane entered the space last year as one of the first sites to go after the home goods market.