Yet another daily deals site has curried favor with investors. Baby- and children-oriented deal site Zulily has raised $43 million in venture capital. Meritech Capital Partners, the same group that had a large stake in PopCap Games before it sold to Electronic Arts for $1.3 billion, led the round. Zulily is also enjoying a surprising estimated valuation of well over $700 million.
In less than two years, Zulily has ballooned from two employees to 240 and counting. The large valuation of the company puts it in the top ranks of some of Seattle’s largest publicly owned tech firms, like Blue Nile and InfoSpace. While Groupon and LivingSocial have garnered much media attention for posting big numbers, Zulily has quietly ramped up its growth to great success. "We are not out looking to see our names in print necessarily, as much as we are trying to build a great business," Zulily CEO Darrell Cavens told GeekWire.
GeekWire reports that Zulily is expected to rake in $150 million in revenue this year. The company’s performance could largely be credited with targeting a lucrative demographic, mothers in the 21st century. Zulily’s daily e-mail reaches 4 million subscribers, noting a pattern of brand loyalty and repeat buyers. "We feel like we can be the best in the world at being the children’s retailer of choice for these moms," Cavens told GeekWire.
