eBay Enterprise

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, Inc.
FormerlyGlobal Sports (1995–2002)
GSI Commerce (2002–2013)
Industry
Founded1995 (1995)
FounderMichael G. Rubin
Defunct2016 (2016)
FateDissolved
Successors
Headquarters
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
,
United States
ParenteBay (2011–2015)
Websitewww.ebayenterprise.com

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 G. 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;[8] as well as Retail Convergence, operators of Rue La La and Smartbargains.com, in 2009.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11] The settlement was significant as it was the first nationwide settlement for unsolicited text messages under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.[12]

On November 9, 2009, the company re-branded its marketing-services division, GSI Interactive, as True Action.[13]

On March 21, 2010, the company and its former CEO, Michael Rubin, were featured on the CBS television series Undercover Boss.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18]

On June 20, 2013, the company announced that it would be retiring the GSI Commerce name in favor of eBay Enterprise.[19]

Magento, Inc. became a part of eBay Enterprise on November 21, 2013.[20] eBay Inc. had purchased Magento on June 6, 2011, prior to completing the acquisition of GSI Commerce.[21]

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.[22]

On November 2, 2015, the sale was finalized for $925 million and eBay Enterprise became an independent company.[23] The company was split into 4 parts: enterprise operations and technology services, Magento Commerce Technologies, Marketing Solutions, and customer relationship management (CRM).[24] The CRM business was acquired by Zeta Interactive.[25]

The photography, video and copywriting services division of eBay Enterprise was sold to Industrial Color Brands on March 28, 2016, for an undisclosed amount.[26]

eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions rebranded as Pepperjam on April 7, 2016.[27]

On April 19, 2016, the enterprise services division of eBay Enterprise merged with Innotrac and officially became Radial, Inc.[28]

List of acquisitions
  • FogDog (2000)[5]
  • Accretive Commerce (2007)[6]
  • e-Dialog (2008)[8]
  • Silverlign (2009)[29]
  • Pepperjam Network (2009)[30]
  • Retail Convergence (2009)[9]
  • VendorNet (2010)[31]
  • FetchBack (2010)[32]
  • ClearSaleing (2011)[33]
  • Fanatics (2011)[34]

List of divestitures
  • Fanatics (2012)[35]
  • Retail Convergence (2012)[35]

References
  1. Gobry, Pascal-Emmanuel (2011-02-14). "Meet GSI Commerce, The Biggest E-Commerce Empire You've Never Heard Of". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  2. Huang, Patricia (July 6, 2006). "America's Youngest CEOs". Forbes. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  3. "Our History". GSI Commerce. 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  4. Regan, Keith (March 3, 2006). "Toys 'R' Us Wins Right to End Amazon Partnership". E-commerce Times. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  5. Sandoval, Greg (October 24, 2000). "Web site developer buys sports site Fogdog". CNET. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  6. Tedeschi, Bob (August 27, 2007). "Late to Web Retailing? There's Still Money There". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  7. "Innotrac merger with GSI Commerce canceled". Philadelphia Business Journal. January 29, 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  8. Katz, Julie M. (January 24, 2008). "Independent ESP e-Dialog Makes Out Well In Acquisition Deal". Forrester Research. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  9. Stone, Brad (October 27, 2009). "Operator of 'Private' Web Sales Is Acquired". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  10. Weinstein v. Airit2me, Inc. et al., No. 06-C-0484 (N.D. Ill. 2008)
  11. "GSI Commerce, Timberland in tentative settlement in text message case". Philadelphia Business Journal. September 15, 2008. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  12. "Timberland laces up $7M text spam settlement". Mass High Tech. September 23, 2008. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  13. Patel, Kunur (November 9, 2009). "How a Back-end E-tail Operation Looks to Grow Into a Digital Shop". AdAge. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  14. ""Undercover Boss" GSI Commerce (TV Episode 2010)". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  15. McKeefery, Kevin (April 21, 2010). "E-Dialog acquires mobile firm M3". DMNews. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  16. "e-Dialog Acquires Database Marketing Solutions Provider MBS". Business Wire. May 3, 2010. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  17. "ShopRunner Redefines the Way Savvy Consumers Save with the Ultimate Shopping and Shipping Experience". Business Wire. November 11, 2010. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  18. Rao, Leena (June 20, 2011). "eBay Closes $2.4 Billion Acquisition of GSI Commerce". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  19. Protalinski, Emil (June 20, 2013). "Two years after the acquisition, eBay rebrands GSI Commerce as eBay Enterprise". The Next Web. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  20. "Expanding Opportunities for Magento Merchants, Partners and Developers". Magento. November 21, 2013. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  21. Perez, Juan Carlos (June 6, 2011). "EBay Buys Magento to Boost Its E-commerce Developer Tools". PC World. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  22. Krishna Kumar, Devika; Goliya, Kshitiz (July 16, 2015). "EBay sells enterprise unit ahead of PayPal split". Reuters. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  23. "EBay Finalizes Sale Of Enterprise Unit As Magento Relaunches As An Independent Company". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  24. "Permira nabs chunk of Ebay Enterprise in $925m buyout". AltAssets. 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  25. DiStefano, Joseph N. (2015-11-04). "eBay's ex-GSI Commerce split 4 ways". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  26. Enright, Allison (2016-03-28). "eBay Enterprise sells its photo and video production studio division". Internet Retailer. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  27. Allabaugh, Denise (2016-04-07). "Pepperjam name revived". The Scranton Times-Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  28. Guy, Sandra (2016-04-19). "An eBay Enterprise division rebrands and directs some big retailer clients to Demandware". Internet Retailer. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
  29. Evans, Katie (April 7, 2009). "GSI acquires web design and marketing agency Silverlign". Internet Retailer. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  30. Allabaugh, Denise (December 27, 2009). "Job losses, takeovers and growth mark 2009 in Luzerne County". The Times-Tribune. Scranton. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  31. "GSI Commerce Acquires VendorNet". Business Wire. May 11, 2010. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  32. Schonfeld, Erick (June 1, 2010). "FetchBack Fetches $40 Million From GSI Commerce". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  33. Martinez, Juan (January 10, 2011). "GSI Commerce acquires ClearSaleing". Direct Marketing News. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  34. Bauerlein, David (February 12, 2011). "Jacksonville-based Football Fanatics scores with $277 million sale". Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  35. Carlson, Nicholas (August 1, 2012). "Instead Of Retiring After Selling His Company For $2 Billion, This Guy Went Ahead And Created A New ~$2 Billion Business". Business Insider. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
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