Ecomom, the Las Vegas-based e-commerce site for eco-friendly kids’ products founded by the late Jody Sherman, wound down its operations due to financial insolvency soon after Sherman’s death at the age of 47 in January 2013.
But there is a silver lining of sorts: Today it was announced that Ecomom’s assets have been acquired has been acquired by GreenCupboards, a Spokane, Washington-based online retailer. Also, GreenCupboards has rebranded itself as Etailz, which will be an umbrella under which GreenCuboards.com and Ecomom operate. The Ecomom.com site, which was shut down a couple months ago, will reopen for business in early summer.
In a phone interview today, Etailz’ CEO Josh Neblett declined to discuss exactly how much his company paid for Ecomom, but he did disclose that the deal includes about $1 million worth of inventory in addition to intellectual property, trademarks, domain names, and the like. Ecomom’s staff had already been laid off prior to the deal, so no talent is included in the acquisition, but Neblett did not rule out bringing some of them on-board if they were interested in moving from Vegas to Spokane.
He added that the consolidation is a natural fit in many ways. “Ecomom launched around the same time that we launched back in 2008, and it was a company we had always tracked closely. With the sudden and tragic demise of the company, I decided to get in touch with Ecomom’s investors and employees. I found out that they were going through this ABC, or Assignment for the Benefit of the Creditors, process, and fortunately we ended up working something out.”
With just under $300,000 in seed funding that was raised just before its 2008 launch, GreenCupboards has grown organically over the past 4.5 years to a staff of 60. Neblett says that should increase by a third within the next few months, as Etailz is actively hiring more employees. The company, which made $13 million last year and expects sales to double this year, is profitable.
In contrast, Ecomom had raised some $12 million from outside investors and yet struggled with serious financial problems and was reportedly operating at a loss.
Here is the press release announcing the sale.
GreenCupboards acquires ecomom
SPOKANE, Wash., April 24, 2013 – GreenCupboards, an online retailer of more than 25,000 environmentally friendly products for homes and businesses, today announced it has acquired the assets of ecomom, an online eco-friendly retailer serving the rapidly growing niche of baby, kids and moms. Today, GreenCupboards also announced that it has changed its corporate name to etailz, Inc. etailz will serve as the parent company of GreenCupboards and ecomom.
“While etailz has long admired the vision and mission of ecomom and was saddened by the series of events that led to the close of ecomom, we are pleased to have the opportunity to continue the work conceived and inspired by ecomom’s dedicated founders and employees,” said etailz Co-founder and CEO Josh Neblett. “Innovation and long-term success are central to etailz’s strategy. Changing our corporate name to etailz allows us to operate individual businesses, such as GreenCupboards and ecomom, as well as grow our etailz family of brands over time.”
Upon the acquisition, etailz owns all ecomom IP including trademarks, domain names, social media, customer lists and inventory. etailz will re-open ecomom at www.ecomom.com in early summer of 2013. Financial terms of the acquisition are not disclosed.
And here is the announcement as it appears on the Ecomom website:
“Today I am delighted to share with you the exciting news that ecomom will be reopening in early summer of 2013. In late March, ecomom was acquiried by etailz, Inc., operator of GreenCupboards.com, a website dedicated to offering the widest array of thoroughly vetted eco-friendly products for you and your home.
Over the past 5 years, etailz has worked hard to create a place where families can shop knowing that the products we offer will be safe for their home and the environment. GreenCupboards.com and ecomom shared a similar vision and etailz has long admired the mission of ecomom. We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue the work inspired by ecomom’s dedicated founders and employees.
Our enthusiasm for this news is matched by our commitment to continue growing the ecomom brand. Over the coming weeks, the team at etailz will be working hard to get ecomom back online. While you wait for the reopening of ecomom, our other website, GreenCupboards.com, is ready to help meet your need for high-quality, eco-friendly products. GreenCupboards.com offers over 25,000 products from the best eco-friendly brands and our support team is available to help answer any questions you may have.
We look forward to being able to serve you and continue the mission of ecomom.
Sincerely,
Josh Neblett
CEO of etailz, Inc.”