The World’s Largest Private Sale Site Enters the US With American Express

Vente Privée, the French private sale website that inspired companies like Gilt Groupe and RueLaLa in the US is staking its claim in the US market through a joint venture with American Express.

If you’re wondering why the idea of yet another private sale site is worth noting, it’s not just because of recent exits (Hautelook was acquired for $270 million by Nordstom) or recent fundraising rounds (Gilt recently raised $138 million at an estimated $500 million valuation), or even the fact that Vente Privee introduced the model a full 6 years before anyone in the US knew what an online private sale was; no, it’s the fact that with more than $1 billion in sales, Vente Privée is larger than Gilt Groupe, RueLaLa and Hautelook combined. You could probably throw Ideeli in there too, and still have a few dollars left over.

In an interview with Business Insider founder Jacques-Antoine Granjon notes that the success of the site outside of France has been largely due to a willingness to learn the in and outs of each market. “Each time we opened in a new country, it was a new adventure. Each time we had to educate people about the brand all over again, build relationships, transfer our DNA,” he says.

In the US that will mean essentially starting from scratch, but having access to AmericanExpress’s 42 million members certainly can’t hurt. Given the number of high earners who shop at private sale sites – sometimes at the expense of upscale department store sites – it’s also an attractive proposition for AmEx, who first dipped their toes into the private sale market with Vacationist.

“I had always said that I wouldn’t be going to the US without a partner,” Granjon says. “It’s a very mature market. Discount shopping here is very structured, with companies like TJ Maxx and others making billions in revenues each year. I’ve always said that my market is Europe and my goal was to work with the fifteen hundred brands that matter in Europe.

But this is a tremendous opportunity. Amex is one of the world’s best brands, with 42 million card holders. We can combine our specific know-how with their reach.”

Granjon says that the site will likely launch under a different name, but a billion dollar juggernaut by any other name is still worth watching.

“You know, we’ve been profitable without debt since 2004. So when I see competitors raise a lot of money, over a hundred million dollars, and still aren’t profitable, I have to wonder.” {SAI/Business Insider}