Gilt Groupe to shut down Park & Bond site

Park & Bond, the full-price menswear e-commerce site that launched in August 2011, will shut down after the holidays, according to a report by Tricia Duryee in the Wall Street Journal-affiliated blog All Things D.

Reached for comment, a Gilt Groupe spokesperson said the company had nothing to add to the All Things D report.

Gilt Groupe, the fast-growing online flash sale company, started restructuring in January, laying off 90 staffers — including Park & Bond president John Auerbach, who had been with Gilt since its launch in 2007. That restructuring was rumored to be a part of the company’s efforts to become profitable for a potential IPO.

Gilt Groupe president Andy Page told All Things D today that Gilt customers were confused by the Park & Bond site. Gilt Man sells menswear at a heavy discount for brief “flash sales.” Park & Bond was a full-price — and expensive menswear site.