Gonzaga alumns sell University District based Etailz for $75M
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
A New York company is buying Spokane-based Etailz Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal worth $75 million.
Etailz, a successful e-commerce and marketing company based in the University District, will keep its headquarters in Spokane as well as its management team, according to a news release.
The buyer is Trans World Entertainment Corp., a retailer that specializes in video, music, pop culture and electronics products. Trans World operates stores under the fye (For Your Entertainment) and Suncoast names.
Trans World was interested in Etailz for its “data-driven approach to digital marketplace retailing,” the company said in a news release. “The acquisition will enable Trans World Entertainment to continue to build upon its credibility with fans of entertainment by diversifying into the fastest growing segment of retail: the digital marketplace.”
Etailz is a homegrown success, with CEO Josh Neblett developing the business plan as a student at Gonzaga University with his co-founder and now-wife, Sarah Wollnick. They won the school’s 2008 Hogan Entrepreneurial Business Plan Competition and founded what was then called Green Cupboards with angel investor Tom Simpson, who taught entrepreneurship at GU. Read more.
