Vente-Privee joins forces with Amex for US launch
Vente-Privee, the French luxury online shopping site, has formed a joint venture with American Express to enter the US market.
Currently selling in seven European countries, this is the first non-European market entry for the online retailer which sells designer goods to members at discounted prices through flash sales.
The joint venture will enable Vente-Privee to benefit from access to American Express’s entire membership database, as well as its organisational know-how and knowledge of the North American market.
For American Express, this is yet another step in its strategy to invest in ecommerce and technology in order to gain more business from processing the transactions of its 40 million members.
The move will see Vente-Privee competing with a number of established players in the US which includes Gilt Groupe an Ideeli.American Express said it had been attracted to Vente-Privee due to its “heritage in the luxury market and place a high premium on delivering quality customer service.”
Jacques-Antoine Granjon, CEO and founder of Vente-Privee said “Bringing the vente-privee.com business model to the US with an outstanding partner that shares our commitment to quality was a critical choice for us.” He added: “The brands where we have strong relationships are excited about extending their offerings into the US market through this partnership and there is no question that American Express was our partner of choice.”
Dan Schulman, group president for enterprise growth at American Express commented: “vente-privee.com is the market leader in online private sales and has built one of the largest retail membership bases in Europe. We look forward to working with the vente-privee.com leadership team to bring this exciting platform to the U.S.”
With 1,322 employees, Vente-Privee.com had a gross turnover of £823.6 million in 2010, a 15% year-on-year increase.
