Frooogal launches flash sale site for lux home

Susan Dickenson -- Home Textiles Today, 8/5/2011 4:30:59 PM

New York - Frooogal.com, a new flash sale site for home decor, furniture, accessories and giftware, is signing up members for its August debut. Frooogal's founders are Kevin Wu and Sandy Wilder, who was formerly with Elizabeth Wilder, a vendor of high-end imported furniture for Sarreid LTD, and home furnishings online retailer Luxfinds.com. Start-up funding for Frooogal came from an undisclosed group of investors.
In a press release, Frooogal claims to be the only flash site platform in which vendors can control their own product offering - approved vendors submit and upload their product images and plan their sales by setting their own prices and choosing the dates of their sales.
Frooogal will offer "daily deals" products at up to 70% off retail. The Vendor Agreement requires vendors to "offer verified pricing of 50 percent off of MSRP to members or as agreed upon." Vendors are charged an up-front listing/set-up fee of $29.99, plus 10 percent of their sales, and also pay for freight. An agreed upon shipping rate to the purchaser is set at $7.95.
Sales events start daily at 11 a.m. (ET), with each sale lasting for 72 hours. All sales are announced in advance to consumer members on the website and via a daily e-newsletter.
Frooogal joins a growing field of flash sale sites that feature home furnishings in their sales events. Others are One Kings Lane, Gilt Groupe (Gilt HOME), Ideeli, Rue La La, HauteLook, Eziba, The Foundary, Joss and Main, Fab, and London-based Achica.
Vendors interested in listing products on the site may submit inquiries to design@frooogal.com.