Wholesale, Stores: Amoruso Says Nothing's Off Nasty Gal's Table

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

News outlet after outlet has tried to nail down Nasty Gal founder and CEO Sophia Amoruso's business plan for her online retail brand. But so far, she's been coy. Speaking off the cuff, she recently told the New York Times that she and Urban Outfitters had discussed a buyout. And though her official statement to Racked was "while it's always flattering to get phone calls, at this point Nasty Gal is not for sale," tech analysts seem to agree that "a big fat acquisition or a blockbuster I.P.O." would be appropriate for the start-up ingenue.

It was a similar story at the WWD CEO summit. Amoruso was noncommittal on the question of whether Nasty would open brick-and-mortar, launch wholesale in department stores, or do pop-up shops, but, importantly, she didn't rule anything out. She did allow that at the moment she's focused on "growing the business," to paraphrase.

Some other hints that she offered include "social media is great for brand-building, but it's not necessary for transactional conversations," and "Investors will want their money back at some point. I'm not in any hurry to give it back [...] any smart person will want me in the business."
· WWD CEO Summit: Sophia Amoruso Discusses Nasty Gal's Evolution [WWD]
· Did One Uberfan Really Tattoo 'Nasty Gal' Inside Her Lip? [Racked]