Decorati: The Next Chapter

As you may already know, this morning it was announced that New York-based Gilt Groupe has acquired Decorati. We sat down with Decorati founder and CEO Shane Reilly and Gilt Groupe chairman Susan Lyne to talk about this exciting development and share what’s in store for Decorati members.

Why the push to expand Gilt’s Home business?
Susan: The home category is very fractured, with content sites where you can’t purchase and single-brand e-commerce sites. There’s also a large trade-only business. To us, that suggests unfulfilled consumer needs and a big opportunity. We know if we can create a site that inspires, with a range of excellent product at a variety of price points, we’ll geometrically improve the home shopping experience.

What was appealing about this opportunity?
Shane: My goal for Decorati was to connect consumers with designers and make it easier to access the most beautiful products for the home. Gilt’s shopping platform and plans for an expanded home business with full-priced products will enable us to do this on a much broader scale. Honestly, the sheer number of members and how much they’re buying is unlike anything the interior design business has ever seen. This acquisition will drastically increase business for our manufacturers and educate consumers on the highest quality products. Together, we’re just expanding the pie.

Susan: What Shane has built at Decorati is so impressive. It’s a platform for designers and trade brands that’s unmatched. It’s also got wonderful inspiration photography from thousands of designers and the widest collection of to-the-trade catalogs. In truth, it lined up perfectly with our vision and will help us create a great new Gilt Home.

Why Gilt?
Shane: That’s easy. Gilt will be the #1 place to shop for your home, and I want Decorati to be a part of that success story. Gilt’s vision is impressive—from e-commerce, to community tools, to designer resources, they are truly innovating on the idea of commerce and content. The power and flexibility of the Gilt shopping technology to handle everything from antiques and one-of-a-kind items to custom upholstery will be revolutionary. At the same time, it was clear Gilt wasn’t planning to steamroll the industry. They respect that interior designers are a critical part of the ecosystem.

Susan, why Decorati?
Susan: The number one reason was Shane. She’s a designer herself but she understands the Internet. She was able to explain to a lot of designers and trade brands that the Web was an opportunity, not a threat—and she did this during a transitional time when a lot of vendors and designers were wary. She’s also built trust with brands we want to be in business with and the design community, who’ll be key to our success.

How important is the e-commerce component?
Shane: It’ll be transformational. With Decorati, we led you to a showroom or a dealer, and while that is valuable, now we can create new collections for Gilt and process actual sales. The whole experience of decorating becomes far more immediate because if you like the lamp you’re looking at you just take out your credit card and it shows up at your doorstep. Believe me, for designers like me who used to process purchase orders with paper checks mailed with stamps, this is a very big deal!

What’s the chemistry like between Decorati and Gilt?
Shane: It’s a great match. They have such a can-do attitude—no matter what the problem, they have a way to solve it. Everyone is smart and quick and I love the pace. They really understand everything I have built at Decorati, down to the detail. Particularly Susan. She made it clear she has been following my career since her days as CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and recognized exactly what we were doing, and how it could be valuable to Gilt.

Susan: It’s true! I’ve been keeping up with Decorati for a while and was actually originally introduced to it by my 25-year-old daughter.

What kind of changes will Decorati members see as a result of the acquisition?
Shane: Nothing will change in the short-term. Our members will maintain their designer portfolios and product catalogs on Decorati just as they always have and consumers will be able to access those resources for inspiration and ideas.

And in the future?
Shane: We’re still in the planning stages, but designers will have a channel tailored to their unique shopping needs, plus they’ll get access to a much broader audience. Consumers will be able to buy a wider assortment of products. What’s really exciting is I have been working with our members since the days when many didn’t even have web sites. Things have progressed a lot since then, and now Gilt is the next chapter.

READ THE PRESS RELEASE

We invite you to chat with Shane on Friday, March 25 (11-12 AM ET / 8–9 AM PT):

· 11-11:30AM ET – Gilt Groupe Facebook Page – http://www.facebook.com/GiltGroupe
· 11:30-12PM ET – Gilt Home Facebook Page – http://www.facebook.com/GiltHome

Interview by Jennifer Bush, Gilt Home editorial director

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