Delia's

Delia's, Inc.

Company type	Private (formerly public)
Industry	Apparel and accessories retail
Founded	1993
Founder	Two Yale University alumni
Fate	Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014; brand licensed by Dolls Kill since 2018
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Area served	United States
Products	Clothing, accessories, footwear, cosmetics, room décor
Parent	Dolls Kill (licensed sub-brand since 2018)
Website	www.dollskill.com/collections/delias

Delia's, Inc. (commonly presented as dELiA*s) was a lifestyle brand specializing in clothing and accessories, primarily designed for girls and young women.

Established in 1993, Delia's functioned as an independent retailer and direct marketer throughout the 1990s and early 2010s. During its peak, it stood out as the foremost marketer in the United States targeting females aged 10 to 24, offering distinct lines such as one for preteen girls aged 7 to 13 (#Template:Proper name) and another for teenagers between 13 and 19. The brand also gained traction among college-aged women due to its budget-friendly offerings that appealed to students. Presently, Delia's exists as a licensed sub-brand within the online retail platform Dolls Kill.

Products

Delia's offers a variety of apparel items such as pants, shorts, skirts, t-shirts, jackets, blazers, and bikini sets. Its product range also includes accessories, footwear like shoes and boots, as well as cosmetics and room décor. Historically, Delia's targeted teenage customers through direct mail catalogs, online platforms, and mall-based specialty retail outlets. Since 2020, Delia's merchandise has been available exclusively via its parent brand, Dolls Kill.

History

Founded in 1993 by two alumni of Yale University, the company distinguished itself by leveraging its insight into the Gen Y demographic, notably using the internet to strengthen its brand image.

In 2003, Alloy Inc. purchased the company for $50 million. The merged entity generated annual sales of approximately $300 million across catalogs, online channels, and retail locations. It also maintained a customer database exceeding 20 million names, representing roughly 30% to 40% of U.S. consumers aged 12 to 18.

Alloy subsequently spun off the business in 2005.

In January 2013, HRSH Acquisitions LLC acquired Alloy Inc., then known as Alloy Apparel, for $3.7 million in cash and took on $3.1 million in liabilities.

On December 5, 2014, Delia's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and announced plans to close all 95 stores.

Following this announcement, the company's stock price plummeted over 80%, reaching $0.02 per share. Steve Russo of Fab/Starpoint purchased the brand for $2.5 million and relaunched it as an online-only store in August 2015; however, this effort did not succeed.

Later, the online fashion retailer Dolls Kill licensed the Delia's name and revived it as a sub-brand in November 2018. The clothing line became available through online sales and pop-up shops in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Subsidiaries

In December 1997, Delia's purchased Gurl.com. Subsequently, it supported a no-cost email and web hosting platform called Gurlmail and Gurlpages, respectively, which were operated by Lycos. Starting in May 1998, Gurl.com began retailing items from Delia's product lineup.

In 1999, Delia's launched Template:Proper name as a digital subsidiary, incorporating Gurl.com along with its related domains under the Template:Proper name umbrella to create websites targeted at Generation Y. When going public in 1999, shares were offered at prices reaching $66 apiece. The Template:Proper name network recorded 35 million page views in February 1999 and generated $2.1 million in revenue for the quarter ending January 31, 1999. That fiscal year concluded with earnings of $425,000 on total sales amounting to $4 million.

Following the collapse of the dot-com bubble, Template:Proper name experienced losses approaching $16 million within the first half of 2000. As a result, Delia's divested or discontinued all its online assets except for Gurl.com, which was sold to Primedia (currently Rent Group) in May 2001 for an undisclosed sum.

External links

• Delia's by Dolls Kill