Qurate’s Zulily lays off an undisclosed number of employees

Zulily, the Seattle-based online retailer that Qurate Retail Group acquired in 2015 to reach younger women, laid off an undisclosed number of employees, a company spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

“On Wednesday, we announced to our team members organizational changes designed to accelerate focus and growth in areas of innovation that will help us best meet the evolving needs of our customers and other key stakeholders,” the company spokesperson wrote in an email. “Unfortunately, this restructuring comes with team member impact. Impacted team members will be provided with support for their transition.”

The spokesperson did not respond to questions regarding the number of employees laid off or the company’s total employee count at this time.

Business Insider reported that Zulily president Jeff Yurcisin sent an email to employees Wednesday alerting the company of these changes. Yurcisin’s email said Zulily is “at a critical inflection point in our business.”

The email says Zulily, an e-commerce unit that sells mainly clothing, footwear, toys, and home products, will undergo restructuring, including “streamlining our merchandising and studio organizations,” and “increasing our investment in technology, the user experience, and other areas to help support speed and agility.”

Qurate Retail Group, the parent company of QVC and HSN, acquired Zulily in October 2015 with the goal of reaching more younger women. While its West Chester-based QVC division made its name by dominating sales through television, an army of e-commerce retailers have long since stormed the market, with Amazon and Walmart, Instagram influencers and YouTube stars all emerging as challengers.

Qurate’s stock fell nearly 27 percent after the company announced in its May earnings report a decrease in revenue across its brands, including the combined QVC and HSN home shopping networks and Zulily.

“Our first-quarter performance was disappointing amidst a changing retail and media landscape,” Mike George, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said on the May conference call with analysts, discussing the three months ended March 31. He said he expects results to remain “variable,” as the company navigates the HSN acquisition along with consumers’ changing shopping habits.

Zulily saw revenues decrease by 5 percent to $397 million, which the company attributed to a lower average selling price, current customers purchasing less often, a decrease in obtaining new customers, and a less efficient marketing effort. Kids and women clothing and home categories led the sales decline.

“In this very competitive and dynamic retail environment, we believe we have the right strategies to get Zulily back on track,” George said on the May call. “But this will be a multi-quarter process with tough comps along the way.”

Qurate’s stock closed down 4.38 percent ($0.62) to $13.52.