Groupon Pursues Growth Into Flash Fashion With $43M Ideeli Buy

Groupon has secured the latest in its string of acquisitions, putting down $43 million in cash for online flash sales retailer ideeli. According to the terms of the deal, the ideeli will maintain separate operations out of its New York headquarters.

The move allows Groupon to strengthen its position in the fashion and apparel industries, chief executive Eric Lefkovsky said in a statement. Aside from women and men’s fashion, ideeli also covers home decor.

As stated in their joint press release, both companies believe there is “considerable room for growth” in the flash sales business. In the regulatory Edgar filing however, figures seem to show that the online flash sales space is not faring too well, with ideeli posting a $30 million operating loss on revenues of $115 million for the year to February 2013.

Most recently, Groupon launched a flash sales operations in the travel sector, offering “alternative destinations and deals” through its Groupon Getaways arm. This followed its purchase of European last minute travel app Blink in September for an undisclosed sum.

Prior to this, Groupon forked out $260 million in cash and stock to buy Korean ecommerce company Ticket Monster from LivingSocial. And apparently, Groupon is still on the market for more purchases, as its warchest is propped by a share repurchase authorization for up to $300 million that expires in August 2015. “We will continue to evaluate opportunities to accelerate the growth of the business, both organically and inorganically,” the company said in the filing.

Who said anything about the end of social commerce?