BROOKLYN,
N.Y., June 21, 2017
/PRNewswire/ -- Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY), which builds markets,
services, and economic opportunity for creative entrepreneurs,
today announced that it is sharpening its focus on key initiatives
and realigning internal resources to pursue the highest-growth
opportunities in order to deliver value to its stakeholders. Areas
of prioritization include enhancing search and discovery, improving
the buyer journey, driving frequency, maximizing the effectiveness
of our marketing spend, and providing world-class seller marketing
tools.
Josh Silverman, Etsy's Chief
Executive Officer, commented, "My conviction that Etsy has a unique
opportunity within the ecommerce space has intensified during my
initial weeks as CEO. Our vibrant community, strong brand affinity,
45 million listings, and ability to connect people through commerce
provide us with a differentiated offering and solid foundation for
growth. By focusing on our 'vital few' initiatives, we will be a
more disciplined company that is better positioned to create the
world's most compelling buying and selling experience."
We are realigning our resources to support these critical
areas and enable faster execution. As a result, we are also
reducing our headcount by approximately 140 positions, or
approximately 15% of our total current workforce. This is in
addition to the headcount reductions announced on May 2, 2017, bringing total eliminated positions
to approximately 230, or an approximate 22% reduction compared to
our headcount at the end of 2016.
Josh continued, "In order to drive focus, we took decisive
steps to double down on the fewest, highest-impact initiatives in
our core marketplace while de-prioritizing other projects and
streamlining our resources. Parting ways with our colleagues is not
easy and I am thankful for their contributions. We are moving
forward with a more nimble structure that supports our current
business needs and allows for faster execution so we can better
serve creative entrepreneurs around the world."
The headcount reductions will include primarily
marketing, product management, and general &
administrative positions. The majority of eliminated
positions will be in our Brooklyn
headquarters, but we will also streamline operations in our global
offices. We remain committed to leveraging our scalable model
in order to support sellers around the world and pursue global
growth opportunities. Within marketing, we remain focused on
buyer acquisition initiatives, but are pausing brand marketing
initiatives for the remainder of 2017.
We expect to incur employee severance charges and other
exit costs of $6.0 million to $8.8
million related to today's announcements. This is in
addition to approximately $6.5 million to $8
million of severance charges and other exit costs we now
expect to incur for the reductions announced in May.
About Etsy
Etsy operates markets
where millions of people around the world connect, both online and
offline, to make, sell and buy unique goods. Etsy also offers a
wide range of seller services and tools that help creative
entrepreneurs start, grow and manage their businesses. The Etsy
community includes creative entrepreneurs who sell on our platform,
thoughtful consumers looking to buy unique goods in our
marketplace, retailers and manufacturers who partner with Etsy
sellers to help them grow their businesses and Etsy employees who
maintain our platform and nurture our ecosystem. Our mission is to
reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting
world, and we're committed to using the power of business to
strengthen communities and empower people.
Etsy was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in
Brooklyn, New York.
Forward-Looking Statements
This
press release (including statements quoted in this press release)
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include
information related to Etsy's ecommerce opportunity, ability to
drive marketplace sales, ability to execute in its key areas of
prioritization and deliver value to its stakeholders, opportunity
for future growth, estimates regarding the expected costs and
benefits of realignment and cost-savings initiatives, business
structure, and business strategies and plans.
Forward-looking statements include all statements that are
not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve
substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results
to differ materially from expectations. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Etsy's ability to
achieve the intended results of its realignment and cost-savings
initiatives and successfully execute against its key areas of
prioritization. These risks and uncertainties are more fully
described in Etsy's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2017.
Forward-looking statements represent Etsy's beliefs and assumptions
only as of the date of this press release. Etsy disclaims any
obligation to update forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Etsy, Inc.