Online Fashion Shopping Store “Bluefly” Shuts Down

The fashion-focused web pioneer — which began hawking discounted designer duds more than 20 years ago — abruptly closed its doors on Friday, surprising its own staffers, The Post has learned.

Employees of the tattered clothing site trudged to work at West 39th Street offices on Friday only to learn that they were locked out of the building, sources told The Post.

The plan, those sources say, is for the company to liquidate.

As of Friday afternoon, customers griped that the Bluefly site had been down for 24 hours with a message reading “We will return shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience. We’re performing some maintenance.”

Fashionistas vented on Twitter about the silence on Bluefly’s website and Facebook accounts, with some asking whether Bluefly is out of business.

“Haven’t received my order and website and phones are shut down,” one customer tweeted.

“Ordered a wallet on bluefly and received a shipping notice email a week ago, but my tracking page doesn’t work,” another wrote. “I’m getting worried …”

“Returned a defective item 6 weeks ago and still no refund?!!! No response to multiple inquiries. Buyer beware – Don’t shop #Bluefly,” tweeted another customer.

Founded in 1998, Bluefly was among the first online retailers to specialize in discounted fashions. In 2017, the company moved into a new office in the Garment District in Manhattan that was half the size of its former 17,000-square-foot headquarters.

At the time, the company said it would focus on international markets for growth and open pop-up shops.

It’s owned by a Chinese manufacturing company — the name of which was not even known to company insiders who referred to the chief executive of the firm as “Rainbow,” according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Clearlake Capital Group of Santa Monica, California, invested in Bluefly in 2013, according to the private equity firm’s website.

Clearlake did not immediately return a call for comment and Bluefly executives could not be reached.

Source: Nypost