Online retailer Zulily’s website was “down for maintenance” as of Tuesday morning.
Visitors to Zulily.com are automatically redirected to a blank webpage with only the message, “We are down for maintenance.” The message follows a period of time where "final sale" and "all items must go" language appeared on Zulily's homepage, making it unclear if the company intends to go out of business or has already done so.
It’s also unclear if or when the website will come back online, which has been down at least since Monday. Zulily and Regent, the private equity firm that bought the retailer in May, did not immediately respond to emails from Retail Dive seeking comment about the website or the company’s operational status.
Retail Dive also found that Zulily’s customer service phone line was no longer being monitored. When the number was dialed on Tuesday morning, an automated message said: “Thank you for calling Zulily customer service. We are unable to service your call. Please email us using [email protected] for assistance.” The call then cut off, with no option to leave a message. A message sent to the customer service email received an automated reply indicating the company would respond “within 24 to 72 hours.”
Zulily’s Facebook page was still live on Tuesday morning. However, the last post was from three days earlier – a promotion to shop for Sorel boots, sneakers and slippers. It includes a link to the now-dead website and mentions that “all sales are final.”
Customer orders appear to be in limbo, as one person asked under the most recent social media post “So are we still getting our orders?” Another said, “Items not delivered, tracking numbers don’t work and all of their help and support options are closed for maintenance. Will be reporting this page to Facebook as a scam site.”
In March, Zulily laid off an undisclosed number of employees. The move was needed to position the business for future growth, the company said in a statement at that time. Zulily also hadn’t performed well in recent months, posting the largest losses in parent company Qurate Retail Group’s brand portfolio. Regent bought Zulily in May. As part of the deal’s terms, Qurate repaid Zulily’s $80 million in outstanding debt. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under Regent’s ownership, the most recent signs of trouble began less than 10 days ago. Mandatory Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notices filed with state employment officials in Washington, Nevada and Ohio indicated Zulily planned to lay off over 800 people.
Then last week, the company sued Amazon in federal court, alleging that the e-commerce giant engaged in price fixing, monopolized the online superstore market and coerced merchants to leave Zulily. Amazon denies any wrongdoing.
