Gilt Groupe gets $138M for a $1B valuation

The flash sales giant plans to use the funds to expand its business categories

Fashion flash sales company Gilt Groupe announced Monday morning that it has raised a whopping $138 million for a valuation of $1 billion. The round was led by Softbank, with help from previous investors General Atlantic and Matrix Partners; as well as new investors, including Goldman Sachs, New Enterprise Associates, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth, Pinnacle Ventures, TriplePoint Capital, and Eastward Capital. This brings the company’s total funding to $240 million.

In addition to its $62.5 million invested in Gilt Groupe, Softbank has also invested in Gilt Groupe Japan for a 50% stake in the Japanese branch. The other participants in the round invested a combined total of $75.5 million into Gilt Groupe. The new funds will be used to support acquisitions, new business categories, and ramp up growth in existing categories and geographies.

Coming down the chute in the near future will be a gourmet food site as well as a full-price men’s online retail store. The company launched in 2007 as an invitation-only site for flash sales on high-end women’s fashion, but since then the company has branched out to include children’s apparel (Gilt Children), men’s apparel (Gilt MAN), luxury vacations (Jetsetter), local deals (Gilt City), home décor (Gilt Home), and a flash sales site in Japan (Gilt Groupe Japan).

In March, Gilt Groupe acquired luxury home décor site Decorati for an undisclosed amount. The site, which considers itself the updated version of the old design catalogue you used to pick up at home improvement stores, features a vast library of products from over 650 trade-only manufacturers and helps consumers connect with local designers. Manufacturers include Kravet, Duralee, Schumacher, Stark, McGuire, and more. Gilt Groupe purchased the company to beef up its Home offering by getting access to products from additional trade-only brands (brands that only sell their products to designers), which will enable the company to offer an enhanced line of products for purchase on the site.

"We are very excited about each of the partners we've chosen and the opportunities this financing creates as we continue to expand into additional categories as well as make strategic acquisitions to complement existing business lines," said Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO of Gilt Groupe, in a statement. 

Image source: giltgroupe.com