Seattle-based online retailer Zulily — battered after weeks of layoffs, website outages and management reversals — posted a message on its website saying that it has made “the difficult but necessary decision to conduct an orderly wind-down of the business to maximize value for the companies’ creditors,” GeekWire.com. To help expedite that process, Zulily said on Friday that it entered into an agreement with a third-party fiduciary operating under the name of Zulily ABC LLC, a subsidiary of a San Diego-based firm by the name of Douglas Wilson Companies that, among other things, specializes in receiverships and liquidating assets of troubled companies. According to a FAQ provided by Douglas Wilson Companies, the goal of the process is to gather and sell assets and then distribute proceeds “in accordance with statutory priorities.” The process usually takes 12 to 18 months. The new Zulily ABC entity is no longer accepting orders from customers through the Zulily website, and refunds to existing customers are unable to be processed at this time. For customers owed money by Zulily — either refunds or holders of gift cards — they are required to fill out a proof of claim form if they want a chance to receive money back. The deadline to file a claim is June 14.
