Retail chain Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has purchased home furnishings and decor e-retailer One Kings Lane Inc. Neither is saying for how much.

One Kings Lane started in 2009 as a members-only, flash-sale e-retailer selling limited quantities of goods at a discount for a limited time. It moved away from the limited-time model in recent years and opened two stores—in New York last summer and San Francisco last month—offering design services. It had $355.4 million in web sales last year, according to Internet Retailer estimates, up 3% from 2014.

Bed Bath & Beyond paid cash for One Kings Lane and CEO Steven H. Temares says the retailer will use One Kings Lane to build out its offerings in furniture and home decor. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to provide them with additional support and exposure to promote and grow their brand,” he says. Bed Bath & Beyond also owns Buy Buy Baby and Cost Plus World Market.

One Kings Lane had raised $225 million in venture funding since 2009; investors included Mousse Partners, Tiger Global Management, Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The last major round was in January 2014 when One Kings Lane raised $112 million. At the time, the e-retailer had a valuation of $912 million. That fell as the flash-sale business model lost its luster. The business model was a byproduct of the 2007-09 recession that had consumers cutting back, leaving manufacturers with excess inventory.

One Kings Lane laid off a quarter of its staff, 89 employees, in December. That followed a round of layoffs in mid-2014 that claimed 79 employees.

One Kings Lane joins a roster of other e-retailers that began as flash-sale sites and were then acquired, closed or struggling. Hudson’s Bay Co. (No. 75) bought Gilt Group Holdings Inc. in January for $250 million. QVC Group (No. 10) bought Zulily Inc. last fall. Amazon.com Inc. (No. 1) shuttered MyHabit in May. In April, Beyond the Rack (No. 190), laid off two-thirds of its staff and filed for creditor protection after failing to secure a buyer.

(Source: internetretailer.com  Author: ALLISON ENRIGHT)