eBay Enterprise, Inc. (formerly GSI Commerce, Inc.) was a
multinational e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managem ...
corporation that specialized in creating, developing and running online shopping sites for
brick and mortar
Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...
brands and retailers. The company also provided a variety of marketing, consumer engagement, customer care,
payment processing, fulfillment,
fraud detection
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensa ...
, 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
The Zale Corporation is an American jewelry retailer, incorporated in Delaware in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Coppell, Texas.
History
The company began in 1924 in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the two Russian-Jewish immig ...
,
iRobot
iRobot Corporation is an American technology company that designs and builds consumer robots. It was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for space exploration and military defense. The com ...
,
Timberland,
Ace Hardware,
Sports Authority
Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerce platform and supported the ret ...
,
Dick's Sporting Goods, and
RadioShack.
History
Founding and growth
Founded by
Michael G. Rubin in 1995 as ''Global Sports Incorporated'', the company focused on selling sporting goods and supplies.
In 1999, it branched out into clothing and a variety of other categories and changed its name to GSI Commerce in 2002.
Toys "R" Us, one of GSI's largest e-commerce partners, chose GSI after suing
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
for breach of its exclusivity contract.
In October 2000, GSI acquired Fogdog.com, an online sporting goods store.
In August 2007, GSI acquired Accretive Commerce, a company with a similar business model, for $97.5 million.
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. 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
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
of cell phone subscribers who alleged that they received unsolicited SMS text messages advertising for Timberland. 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. The settlement was significant as it was the first nationwide settlement for unsolicited text messages under the
Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1991 and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush as Public Law 102-243. It amended the Communications Act of 1934. The TCPA is codified as ...
.
On November 9, 2009, the company re-branded its marketing-services division, GSI Interactive, as True Action.
On March 21, 2010, the company and its former CEO,
Michael Rubin
Michael Rubin (born 1971) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He previously worked as an official at the Pentagon, where he dealt with issues relating to the Middle East, and as political adviser to the Coalition Provis ...
, were featured on the CBS television series ''
Undercover Boss
''Undercover Boss'' is a reality television series franchise created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working u ...
''.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On June 20, 2013, the company announced that it would be retiring the ''GSI Commerce'' name in favor of ''eBay Enterprise''.
Magento, Inc. became a part of eBay Enterprise on November 21, 2013. eBay Inc. had purchased Magento on June 6, 2011, prior to completing the acquisition of GSI Commerce.
Sale and dissolution
On July 16, 2015, the
Permira
Permira is a global investment firm. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with assets under management of €60+ billion. The Permira funds have made approximately 300 private equity investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Ser ...
-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.
On November 2, 2015, the sale was finalized for $925 million and eBay Enterprise became an independent company. The company was split into 4 parts: enterprise operations and technology services,
Magento Commerce Technologies, Marketing Solutions, and customer relationship management (CRM). The CRM business was acquired by
Zeta Interactive
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. is a data-driven marketing technology company which was founded in 2007. Zeta offers companies a suite of multichannel marketing tools focused on creating, maintaining, and monetizing customer relationships.
Zeta Glo ...
.
The photography, video and copywriting services division of eBay Enterprise was sold to ''Industrial Color Brands'' on March 28, 2016, for an undisclosed amount.
eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions rebranded as ''Pepperjam'' on April 7, 2016.
On April 19, 2016, the enterprise services division of eBay Enterprise merged with Innotrac and officially became ''
Radial, Inc''.
List of acquisitions
* FogDog (2000)
* Accretive Commerce (2007)
* e-Dialog (2008)
* Silverlign (2009)
* Pepperjam Network (2009)
* Retail Convergence (2009)
* VendorNet (2010)
* FetchBack (2010)
* ClearSaleing (2011)
*
Fanatics
Fanaticism (from the Latin adverb ''fānāticē'' ren-''fānāticus''; enthusiastic, ecstatic; raging, fanatical, furious is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm.
Definitions
Philosopher George Santayana ...
(2011)
List of divestitures
* Fanatics (2012)
* Retail Convergence (2012)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:eBay Enterprise
EBay
Online retailers of the United States
2011 mergers and acquisitions
2015 mergers and acquisitions
Companies based in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania