Members-only flash sale retailer Fab.com has bought U.K.-based e-retailer Llustre. The acquisition marks the entry into the United Kingdom of U.S.-based Fab.com, which sells home décor and designer products.
Llustre, which launched in April and focused on sales of designer housewares, now operates as the British arm of Fab.com at uk.fab.com. Members must sign up with the e-retailer to receive information about sales and to buy products. “In the coming months we’ll also transition Fab UK onto Fab’s technology, social features, and mobile apps,” Jason Goldberg, Fab’s founder and CEO, writes in a blog posting.
To further aid its European growth, Fab.com has appointed Maria Molland as chief European officer. Fab.com hired her earlier this year to help oversee the retailer’s growth outside the United States. Molland will supervise Llustre co-founder Tracy Doree, who becomes managing director, Fab UK, and head of U.K. merchandising. The other co-founder, Vivienne Bearman, now oversees Fab.com’s U.K. product and operations team.
Roman Kirsch, meanwhile, continues as Fab.com’s managing director for continental Europe. “Under Roman’s leadership our team in continental Europe has grown from 30 to 85 people during the past four months, while Fab’s membership in Europe has grown to more than 1 million members from zero at the beginning of the year,” Goldberg writes.
He expects that Europe will account for 20% of Fab.com’s revenue this year. Earlier this year, he predicted that Fab.com would achieve $100 million in revenue in 2012. Originally a gay social network, Fab.com relaunched in 2011 as an e-commerce site. 5 million shoppers have signed up as members, Goldberg said this week.
Fab.com is No. 449 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
The Llustre deal marks the third acquisition for Fab.com, which previously bought Germany-based Casacanda in Germany and U.S.-based Fashionstake.
Fab.com was featured in Internet Retailer’s Hot 100 magazine issue, which highlights the most innovative online retailers of 2011.
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