Seattle-based online retailer Zulily is closing out the year on another bleak note.
Zulily.com on Tuesday redirected visitors to a page that said the website was "down for maintenance." It comes less than two weeks after Zulily disclosed in a public filing that it was closing its Seattle operations and laying off 292 local workers.
It is unclear whether Zulily plans to restore the website or if will remain offline permanently. The company didn't respond to a request for more information.
Even prior to its Dec. 7 closure filing, Zulily had gone through multiple rounds of layoffs this year, including just weeks after the company was sold in May to Los Angeles-based private equity firm Regent for an undisclosed amount. Zulily exited the consumables business in July. The company had long been known for its flash sales but had recently invested more in becoming an online superstore.
Zulily is also facing at least three lawsuits from vendors alleging unpaid invoices, including one from Omni Logistics that claims Zulily owes the company over $2.7 million in unpaid invoices, plus interest, late fees and attorney costs. Multiple smaller vendors have also complained about invoices left unpaid by Zulily. Some filed complaints with the Washington state Attorney General's Office.
GeekWire reported that former Zulily CEO Terry Boyle told employees in October he would step down at the end of that month.
Zulily, founded in 2009, offered clothing, toys, shoes and more. The company went public in 2013. Qurate, then Liberty Interactive Corp., acquired the company in 2015 for $2.4 billion. West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Qurate also owns the home shopping networks QVC and HSN. Qurate recently decided to focus on its core business of video streaming commerce and decided to sell Zulily to Regent.
Earlier this month, Zulily filed a lawsuit against Amazon in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The lawsuit alleges Amazon punished sellers who used both platforms if those sellers didn't keep prices higher on Zulily than on Amazon.
