Zulily launches customization-focused website

Flash sale site Zulily is making “significant progress” toward growth, accord to its CEO, and moving ahead with the launch of a redesigned website.

The company reported that revenue in the first quarter ended in March rose nearly 30%, year over year, to $306.6 million, missing consensus for $314 million, yielding EPS of a penny per share.

Zulily CEO Darrell Cavens called the results “strong,” adding that the company made significant progress “against our 2015 objectives to improve the daily experience, deliver the perfect order and expand gross margins.”

The redesigned website will provide a more customized daily shopping experience for each of its customers, the company says.

"We are changing the way people shop by allowing customers to easily discover unique and special products every day," said Darrell Cavens, CEO of Zulily. "The site redesign is the first of several initiatives for the year that will allow us to continue to surprise and delight our customer each and every day."

Zulily said its active customers rose 35%, year over year, to 5 million, while total orders rose by 15% to 6.3 million. Average order size was $56.26, up 2%, it said.

For the current quarter, the company sees revenue of $285 million to $300 million. That compares to consensus for $362 million and $15 million.

For the full year, the company sees revenue of $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, and adjusted Ebitda of $55 million to $70 million. That compares to consensus for $1.58 billion and $66 million.

Separately, the company said Brian Swartz, the former head of finance at online education firm Apollo Education was appointed its new CFO.