GSI acquires email marketing firm, e-Dialog
GSI Commerce recently acquired e-Dialog, a leading email marketing firm based in Massachusetts, for $157 million. The two organizations have long collaborated to help clients grow online business. The fit for both service providers is a natural. The acquisition closed on last week.
A majority of GSI customers already rely on them to manage the sales channel, a revenue driver for both client and vendor. Bringing e-Dialog into the fold enables GSI to offer email marketing as an entry point to a broader range of outsourced services. It also gives GSI greater opportunity to upsell into its base of 85 clients.
SPANX selects GSI Commerce for full service
On January 17, GSI Commerce announced it had signed SPANX to a multi-year agreement. GSI will provide the SPANX® brand with ecommerce technology, fulfillment and customer service for its unique line of form-fitting hosiery.
SPANX was founded by Sara Blakely, a former contestant on the Fox reality show, The Billionaire, where she finished in second place in pursuit of a three month gig as president of the Virgin empire.
SPANX products are carried at almost a dozen national retailers including Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Lane Bryant, Saks. Partnerships like this, between manufacturers and a crew like GSI, is a great fit. The direct-to-consumer sales channel demands time and attention that many companies just can’t afford to manage in-house.
The new SPANX site is expected to go live this spring.
GSI Commerce stock upgraded to “buy”
Shares for GSI Commerce (Nasdaq: GSIC) were upgraded to a “buy” from analysts at Needham & Co. who set a target price of $24 this morning. GSI stock had shed more than 25% of its value over the last week, falling from a high of $26.46 down to $19.77.
Friday’s drop came after a downgrade by Jefferies & Co. analyst, Ross MacMillan. He observed aggressive discounts by GSI this holiday season across its partners’ sites. So MacMillan cut profit forecasts and adjusted the price target to $26 on Friday, which is well above today’s closing price.
Did the market over-react on Friday’s news? Needham & Co. thinks so, which prompted today’s upgrade. That didn’t prevent the stock from closing down on Monday. After hours trading is showing a slight rebound.
ShopEcko.com launches on GSI’s platform
Marc Ecko Enterprises is a NY-based fashion retailer with brands that include Ecko Unltd.® with its familiar rhino icon, and Red. The company launched a new ecommerce site this week, ShopEcko.com, using the GSI Commerce’s technology platform.
The site is rich with photography; and features what they call a “mini-cart” that pops up Web 2.0-style when you add something to your shopping cart. The pop-up hides itself in a few seconds, which feels a little clunky to me. But the overall experience is quite good.
I also notice some very deep discounts on the Ecko products, many over 50% off. Such a bargain! Unfortunately, deep discounting policies contributed to the downgrade of GSI’s stock today by Jefferies & Co.
With all its recent acquisitions (including Zendor, which closed today), I expect GSI will come out just fine after the holiday.
GSI Commerce extending overseas via acquisition
Today, GSI acquired Zendor.com, a Manchester UK provider of end-to-end ecommerce solutions, including call center, fulfillment and marketing services. GSI Commerce is a leading full service ecommerce provider. This is their second major acquisition this year. In August, GSI purchased Accretive Commerce.
