Rue La La Launches Los Angeles Shopping Site
Rue La La has put down stakes in Los Angeles.
The Boston-based e-commerce company announced it rolled out a local shopping site called Rue Los Angeles on July 12.
Located at www.ruelosangeles.com, the site showcases Los Angeles businesses for an affluent Los Angeles–area crowd. Rue La La also runs city-focused sites in New York, Seattle, Philadelphia and Boston.
Tova Bonem, who most recently was the publisher of Los Angeles Confidential, a magazine owned by Niche Media LLC, was named general manager of Rue Los Angeles.
Bonem will work with a staff of three to curate and showcase Los Angeles–area restaurants, spas, entertainment and fashion. “Fashion is a strong category,” Bonem said of the site. She declined to forecast annual revenues for the site or expected membership.
Rue Los Angeles will email its consumers—many are already Rue La La members—with news of exclusives and discounts in its daily Rue Los Angeles Picks. Rue Los Angeles offers will be available for 24 hours, shorter than the typical 48-hour deals on Rue La La.
Rue Los Angeles’ membership is expected to be similar to Rue La La’s—83 percent female with a median age of 35. Currently, Rue La La’s membership totals 4.1 million in the United States.
Competition for the local deals market is heating up. Earlier this month, Chicago-based Groupon expanded its location-based deals platform, Groupon Now!, to markets such as Orange County, Calif.; Las Vegas; and Minneapolis. A Los Angeles Groupon Now! site debuted in June, offering deals on everything from restaurant discounts to shopping bargains. The Groupon Now! deals often are intended to be used the same day they are redeemed or within 48 hours.
Groupon Now! can be accessed by computers and via free mobile apps found at the iPhone app store and the Android marketplace, according to Dan Roarty, vice president of Groupon Now!
“Groupon Now! is helping consumers across the country discover the best of their city whenever they have a moment to explore while driving business to local merchants at the time that’s best for them,” Roarty said.
Businesses interested in working with Rue Los Angeles can send inquiries to local@ruelala.com.—Andrew Asch
