EBay Enterprise explained
eBay Enterprise, Inc. (formerly GSI Commerce, Inc.) was a multinational e-commerce corporation that specialized in creating, developing and running online shopping sites for brick and mortar brands and retailers. The company also provided a variety of marketing, consumer engagement, customer care, payment processing, fulfillment, fraud detection, and technology integration services.
eBay Enterprise had over 500 clients and operated 26 offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. It provided services for companies such as Zales, iRobot, Timberland, Ace Hardware, Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, and RadioShack.[1]
History
Founding and growth
Founded by Michael Rubin in 1995 as Global Sports Incorporated, the company focused on selling sporting goods and supplies.[2] In 1999, it branched out into clothing and a variety of other categories and changed its name to GSI Commerce in 2002.[3] Toys "R" Us, one of GSI's largest e-commerce partners, chose GSI after suing Amazon.com for breach of its exclusivity contract.[4] In October 2000, GSI acquired Fogdog.com, an online sporting goods store.[5] In August 2007, GSI acquired Accretive Commerce, a company with a similar business model, for $97.5 million.[6] In 2008, it was announced that Innotrac, a similar e-commerce company with fulfillment centers located throughout the United States, would be acquired, however, the deal was canceled in January 2009.[7] The company acquired e-Dialog in 2008; as well as Retail Convergence, operators of Rue La La and Smartbargains.com, in 2009.
In September 2008, GSI and Timberland reached a settlement of up to $7,000,000 with a class of cell phone subscribers who alleged that they received unsolicited SMS text messages advertising for Timberland.[8] Both Timberland and GSI denied any wrongful conduct and stated that a completely separate and independent company was responsible for securing the consents of the class members to receive the text messages.[9] The settlement was significant as it was the first nationwide settlement for unsolicited text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.[10]
On November 9, 2009, the company re-branded its marketing-services division, GSI Interactive, as True Action.[11]
On March 21, 2010, the company and its former CEO, Michael Rubin, were featured on the CBS television series Undercover Boss.[12]
On April 21, 2010, e-Dialog, a GSI Commerce Marketing Services division, announced the acquisition of M3 Mobile Marketing, a Philadelphia-based company which offers a full-service mobile marketing model.[13]
On May 3, 2010, e-Dialog, a GSI Commerce Marketing Services division, announced the acquisition of MBS, a database marketing solutions provider, from World Marketing Inc.[14]
In 2010, the company announced the launch of ShopRunner http://shoprunner.com, a members-only online shopping program that offers savvy consumers unlimited free two-day shipping with no minimum order size, and free shipping on returns, across a wide selection of today's most popular retailers. ShopRunner also offers members the ability to combine fast, free shipping with exclusive money-saving deals direct from its retail partners.[15]
eBay ownership
On March 28, 2011, it was announced that eBay Inc. would acquire GSI for $2.4 billion. The deal was closed on June 20, 2011.[16]
On June 20, 2013, the company announced that it would be retiring the GSI Commerce name in favor of eBay Enterprise.[17]
Magento, Inc. became a part of eBay Enterprise on November 21, 2013.[18] eBay Inc. had purchased Magento on June 6, 2011, prior to completing the acquisition of GSI Commerce.[19]
Sale and dissolution
On July 16, 2015, the Permira-led consortium of buyers including Sterling Partners, Longview Asset Management, Innotrac, Inc., and companies owned by Permira funds began the process to buy the company.[20]
On November 2, 2015, the sale was finalized for $925 million and eBay Enterprise became an independent company.[21] The company was split into 4 parts: enterprise operations and technology services, Magento Commerce Technologies, Marketing Solutions, and customer relationship management (CRM).[22] The CRM business was acquired by Zeta Interactive.[23]
The photography, video and copywriting services division of eBay Enterprise was sold to Industrial Color Brands on March 28, 2016, for an undisclosed amount.[24]
eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions rebranded as Pepperjam on April 7, 2016.[25]
On April 19, 2016, the enterprise services division of eBay Enterprise merged with Innotrac and officially became Radial, Inc.[26]
List of acquisitions
- FogDog (2000)
- Accretive Commerce (2007)
- e-Dialog (2008)[27]
- Silverlign (2009)[28]
- Pepperjam Network (2009)[29]
- Retail Convergence (2009)[30]
- VendorNet (2010)[31]
- FetchBack (2010)[32]
- ClearSaleing (2011)[33]
- Fanatics (2011)[34]
List of divestitures
- Fanatics (2012)[35]
- Retail Convergence (2012)
Notes and References
- Web site: Business Insider . Pascal-Emmanuel. Gobry. Meet GSI Commerce, The Biggest E-Commerce Empire You've Never Heard Of. 2011-02-14 . 2016-05-11.
- Web site: July 6, 2006 . America's Youngest CEOs . Patricia . Huang . Forbes . 2010-03-14.
- Web site: 2009 . Our History . GSI Commerce . 2010-03-14.
- News: March 3, 2006 . Toys 'R' Us Wins Right to End Amazon Partnership . Keith . Regan . E-commerce Times . 2010-03-14.
- Web site: Sandoval . Greg . Web site developer buys sports site Fogdog . CNET . October 24, 2000 . 2015-07-26.
- News: Late to Web Retailing? There's Still Money There. Tedeschi. Bob. August 27, 2007. The New York Times. New York. 2010-03-14.
- News: January 29, 2009 . Innotrac merger with GSI Commerce canceled . Philadelphia Business Journal . 2010-03-14.
- Weinstein v. Airit2me, Inc. et al., No. 06-C-0484 (N.D. Ill. 2008)
- News: September 15, 2008 . GSI Commerce, Timberland in tentative settlement in text message case . Philadelphia Business Journal . 2010-03-14.
- News: September 23, 2008 . Timberland laces up $7M text spam settlement . Mass High Tech. 2016-04-22.
- News: AdAge. November 9, 2009. How a Back-end E-tail Operation Looks to Grow Into a Digital Shop. 2019-02-26. Kunur. Patel.
- Web site: IMDb. "Undercover Boss" GSI Commerce (TV Episode 2010). 2016-07-03.
- News: DMNews. April 21, 2010. E-Dialog acquires mobile firm M3 . Kevin . McKeefery . 2019-02-26.
- News: Business Wire. May 3, 2010. e-Dialog Acquires Database Marketing Solutions Provider MBS. 2019-02-26.
- News: Business Wire. November 11, 2010. ShopRunner Redefines the Way Savvy Consumers Save with the Ultimate Shopping and Shipping Experience. 2019-02-26.
- Web site: Rao . Leena . eBay Closes $2.4 Billion Acquisition of GSI Commerce . TechCrunch. June 20, 2011 . 2015-07-25.
- Web site: Protalinski . Emil . Two years after the acquisition, eBay rebrands GSI Commerce as eBay Enterprise . The Next Web . June 20, 2013 . 2015-07-30.
- Web site: Expanding Opportunities for Magento Merchants, Partners and Developers. Magento. November 21, 2013. 2016-04-22.
- Web site: EBay Buys Magento to Boost Its E-commerce Developer Tools. Perez. Juan Carlos. PC World. June 6, 2011. 2016-04-22.
- Web site: Krishna Kumar . Devika. Goliya . Kshitiz . EBay sells enterprise unit ahead of PayPal split . Reuters . July 16, 2015 . 2015-07-25.
- Web site: EBay Finalizes Sale Of Enterprise Unit As Magento Relaunches As An Independent Company. Forbes. 2015-11-02.
- Web site: AltAssets. Permira nabs chunk of Ebay Enterprise in $925m buyout. 2015-11-03. 2016-04-22.
- News: DiStefano. Joseph N.. The Philadelphia Inquirer. eBay's ex-GSI Commerce split 4 ways. 2015-11-04. 2016-04-22.
- Web site: Internet Retailer. Allison. Enright. eBay Enterprise sells its photo and video production studio division. 2016-03-28. 2016-05-09.
- News: Allabaugh. Denise. Pepperjam name revived. The Scranton Times-Tribune. 2016-04-07. 2016-04-22.
- Web site: Guy. Sandra. An eBay Enterprise division rebrands and directs some big retailer clients to Demandware. Internet Retailer. 2016-04-19. 2016-04-22.
- Web site: Katz . Julie M. . Forrester Research . Independent ESP e-Dialog Makes Out Well In Acquisition Deal . January 24, 2008 . 2015-07-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150910092641/http://blogs.forrester.com/julie_m_katz/08-01-24-independent_esp_e_dialog_makes_out_well_acquisition_deal . September 10, 2015 . dead .
- Web site: Evans . Katie . Internet Retailer . GSI acquires web design and marketing agency Silverlign . April 7, 2009 . 2015-07-29.
- News: Allabaugh . Denise . Job losses, takeovers and growth mark 2009 in Luzerne County . The Times-Tribune . Scranton . December 27, 2009 . 2015-07-26.
- News: Operator of 'Private' Web Sales Is Acquired. Stone. Brad. October 27, 2009. The New York Times. New York. 2015-07-26.
- Web site: Business Wire. GSI Commerce Acquires VendorNet . May 11, 2010 . 2019-02-26.
- Web site: Schonfeld . Erick . TechCrunch . FetchBack Fetches $40 Million From GSI Commerce . June 1, 2010 . 2015-07-26 .
- Web site: Martinez . Juan . GSI Commerce acquires ClearSaleing . Direct Marketing News . January 10, 2011 . 2015-07-26 . 2015-07-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150730223346/http://www.dmnews.com/multichannel-marketing/gsi-commerce-acquires-clearsaleing/article/193991/ . dead .
- News: Bauerlein . David . February 12, 2011 . Jacksonville-based Football Fanatics scores with $277 million sale . Florida Times-Union . Jacksonville . 2015-07-26 .
- Web site: Carlson . Nicholas . Instead Of Retiring After Selling His Company For $2 Billion, This Guy Went Ahead And Created A New ~$2 Billion Business . Business Insider . August 1, 2012 . 2015-07-29.