May 31, 2023

Zulily changes hands, and is set to exit 2601 Elliott

Photo via CBRE [enlarge]

The large old building, center, faces the waterfront and railroad tracks. A new bike trail may be coming, too.

The DJC first reported last month on a new partial life-science conversion plan for 2601 Elliott Ave., the large old warehouse complex — now offices — that's long been home to online retailer Zulily. SABArchitects filed the early proposal for building owner Shorenstein Properties. It hasn't gained much detail since early April.

That preliminary plan now looks to have been quite prescient. Two days before the recent Memorial Day weekend, Zulily's owner, Qurate Retail, announced that it had just sold the company to private equity firm Regent, of Los Angeles. Terms weren't disclosed.

The press release from publicly traded Qurate, based in Colorado, makes no mention of Zulily's headquarters building. Zulily signed its full-building lease in 2013 for what was once the American Can warehouse. (Real Networks later had its HQ there.) GeekWire and others have reported recent rounds of job cuts at Zulily. LinkedIn says the firm now has around 750 on staff, down from 1,200 in 2021 — when online shopping reached a pandemic peak, now ebbed.

CBRE is now offering all 345,777 square feet in the complex, with an availability date of Jan. 1 next year. The listing popped up in recent weeks on LoopNet. The individual brokers are Laura Ford, David Abbott and Katie Nagle.

Regent owns brands including Club Monaco, DIM Paris, La Senza, Escada and DiamondBack. Investing in a variety of sectors, it says it “focuses on driving transformative change by strategically repositioning businesses and pursuing opportunities that can accelerate growth and innovation.”

Regent Chairman Michael Reinstein said of its latest acquisition, “We are excited to partner with the Zulily team to help the company return to its entrepreneurial roots as an independent business. Zulily has been a trailblazer in using technology to create a compelling online customer experience. Their revolutionary logistics and fulfillment network has also set a new industry standard, and we are excited to leverage its immense potential to grow the Zulily business in new markets.”

Zulily launched in 2010, went public in 2013 and was sold in 2015 to Qurate. Today it describes itself as an “online retailer delivering a fun shopping experience helping moms discover exclusive daily deals, brand names and on-trend styles, and everyday value on clothing, footwear, homeware essentials and more.”

Shorenstein acquired the nearly full-block complex, which faces west to the railroad tracks and waterfront, two years ago for nearly $185 million. Zulily was then riding high, and the building owner is now confronted with a very big block of vacant space. East across Elliott, the associated garage has 592 stalls.