Proozy, the Eagan-based online retailer known for offering daily deals on brand-name apparel and accessories, is acquiring Zulily, once a much larger player in discount e-commerce.

Proozy founder and CEO Jeremy Segal said he paid $5 million for a majority stake in Zulily, an e-commerce platform with roughly 131 million customers, compared to Proozy’s 3 million. The Zulily site is currently down while the transfer takes place.

This is actually the second time Zulily has changed hands in about a year: Beyond Inc., the Utah-based company that is trying to resuscitate the Bed, Bath & Beyond, BuyBuy Baby and Overstock names, bought the defunct Zulily brand’s assets at the end of 2024 for $4.5 million. Beyond president Adrianne Lee said in a statement the company wants to stay “laser focused on our core brands as we march towards profitability.” Beyond will retain a 25% stake in Zulily.

Launched in 2010, Zulily peaked around 2014—a heyday for online flash sales and daily deals. It was bought by QVC Group for $2.4 billion in 2015 and sold to an investment group in 2023, but went out of business by the end of that year. Proozy was founded in 2015  and does not have outside investors.

Segal, who acknowledges that Proozy, too, has lost some footing the past two years with “operational challenges,” believes that with the combined audience, it’s possible to bring back daily deals e-commerce and “take that to the moon.” He blamed Zulily’s recent struggles on diminished deals and Beyond’s focus on growing Bed, Bath & Beyond and its other brands.

“They pumped an incredible amount of money into logistics, but stopped offering incredible deals. It didn’t resonate with shoppers,” Segal said. “Our vision is to bring that back—top brands with the current best-of-web pricing.”

Proozy’s sweet spot has been athletic brands—Nike, Adidas, Under Armour—while Zulily was most associated with fashion. Segal, whose umbrella company is Lyons Trading, said he plans to form a new company that will combine operations and absorb the Proozy and Zulily brands.

Proozy currently employs 60 in the Twin Cities, including contract workers. Segal said Zulily’s four lead merchants will join Proozy.

The real value of the acquisition for Segal is Zulily’s millions of email addresses and brand recognition in the overstock space.

“The Proozy and Zulily customer is the same: 80% female, affluent, and deal-seeking. They expect a constant variety of deals,” Segal said. “It’s a hole in the market and this is a strategic move to reset.”