Zulily will be shutting down its U.K. office and moving its across-the-pond customers to its U.S.-based website. The Seattle-based flash sale company announced today that the office, which hosts around 50 employees, will be closing in February, just a day after the company said it was considering doing so.
“Beginning in early February, we will serve our U.K. customers from the same platform that we serve our customers in the U.S., Canada and Australia, giving them what we believe is an even better zulily shopping experience,” a representative for Zulily said in a statement emailed to GeekWire. “This approach, which has led to significant growth in Canada and Australia, leverages our 500-person U.S.-based merchandising team to offer U.K. customers thousands more new and unique products at great prices. With the change, we have also made the decision to close our U.K. office.”
While the company won’t be hosting a local business overseas, Zulily said that it’s interested in pursuing further international expansion this year. Closing its U.K. fulfillment center means that Zulily will have to ship items from the U.S., which means higher shipping costs and longer wait times for customers overseas. Still, the company has said in the past that its customers are ready to wait long periods of time for items they buy on the site.
“Based on the success of our Canadian and Australian businesses, we believe there is strong demand for our offering across the globe and will continue to focus on international growth in the coming year,” the company said in a statement.
All of this comes as the company’s stock has continued to plummet amid concerns that it won’t hit targets for its quarterly financial results. Yesterday, ITG Research cut its revenue targets for the company, and its stock closed at $18.21, down 2 percent from this morning and below its IPO price of $20.
