Zulily

Born 2009/2010, Dead 2024 (click here).

This is a "compressed life" if there ever was one. From birth to public offering to sale to an established brand to sale to private equity to the end in a decade-and-a-half.

The day Amazon delivery trucks arrived in your neighborhood was the day that traditional e-commerce ended. Unless each and every one of us have a compelling differentiator that causes a customer to stay away from Amazon, we'll lose out to those delivery trucks sending inexpensive merchandise to our door just hours after we ordered it.

Traditional catalog brands were hobbled by e-commerce and are now being stymied by paper / print / postage partners.

"Omnichannel" retail was crippled by e-commerce. I mean, Macy's might be taken private and not for what they sell but for the real estate, well, that tells you everything you need to know.

E-commerce was thumped by Amazon. Zulily. Stitch Fix is falling apart.

We're headed in interesting and unusual direction in 2024-2025. Put your creativity hat on. This problem won't be solved traditionally. Nope.

P.S.: As we wind down 2023, I've been blessed to work with a significant number of newer brands. Everybody focuses on the big trees in the forest ... down at ground level, business is being reinvented. There are many positive stories coming, folks.