Totsy
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Totsy was a New York flash-sale e-retailer founded in 2009 by Guillaume Gauthereau, selling kids' and moms' clothes and accessories at private-sale discounts. A Zulily rival, it built a list of four million email subscribers and raised about $34 million in venture financing, touting exclusive deals with brands like Disney. Sale documents later showed it lost money on $16.9 million of sales in 2012.
02 / Totsy FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Totsy was structurally money-losing: it lost money on $16.9 million in 2012 sales and projected a $22.9 million loss for 2013, as the flash-sale model that thrived in the recession faded — the recovering economy restored brands' pricing power, manufacturers stopped feeding discount channels, and flash sales lost their core appeal. In May 2013 the company laid off its entire 83-person staff and put its four-million-subscriber email list up for sale.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Guillaume Gauthereau founds Totsy in New York in 2009 as a flash-sale site for kids' and moms' apparel.
- Funding
Totsy raises $18.5 million as its rivalry with Zulily heats up, bringing total venture financing to about $34 million.
- Collapse
In May 2013 Totsy lays off all 83 employees and seeks a buyer for its email-subscriber list; sale documents show deepening losses.
- Asset sale
In June–July 2013 Totsy's assets are sold to Modnique Inc, a fashion eTailer expanding into kidswear.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In May 2013 Totsy laid off all 83 employees and put its four-million-subscriber email list up for sale after sale documents showed it lost money on $16.9 million of 2012 sales with a projected $22.9 million loss for 2013.
- 02
In June–July 2013 the company's assets were sold to Modnique Inc.