Gilt Groupe CEO Seeks to Prove Flash Sales Are No Fad

Gilt Groupe's new chief executive officer is trying to restore the promise of the online luxury retailer by focusing on what the company does best: deep discounts on a deadline. Michelle Peluso's company is testing technology to make its limited-time-only offers more effective, even as competitors shy away from the tactic and venture capitalists call it a fad. At stake are the ambitions for an initial public offering by the company, which was once valued at $1 billion as the buzzy standard bearer of New York's startup scene.