Vente-privee.com
Encyclopedia
The private shopping club
vente-privee.com deals in the concept of online retailing. The company
was developed in an online environment to host sales of designer brands for members, with reduced prices. These sales include a diverse selection of product categories: fashion
, accessories
, toys, watches, home appliances, sports equipment, technology and wines.
At the end of 2000 Jacques-Antoine Granjon and his associates began to conceptualise the sale of out of fashion stock through limited-time sales events on the internet. The principle was to fulfil supplier’s needs to quickly sell old stock, without harming the brand’s image or competing with other distribution channels, while extracting maximum revenue. On July 26, 2007, Summit Partners
acquired a minority stake in vente-privee.com
850 employees are based in the old printing factory of the French daily newspaper Le Monde
, in La Plaine Saint Denis (Paris):
The remaining 400 employees work in the 125,000 sqm warehouses in Blanc-Mesnil
(Paris) and St. Vulbas
(near Lyon
).
Sales usually start at 6 am GMT
on weekdays, and 8 am GMT on weekends, and last for 2 to 4 days.
2008
2007
2006
2005
Private shopping club
An online private shopping club is a members only shopping club, where members can buy goods at high discounts.Private shopping clubs organise sales events for its members that typically last 2 to 6 days....
vente-privee.com deals in the concept of online retailing. The company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
was developed in an online environment to host sales of designer brands for members, with reduced prices. These sales include a diverse selection of product categories: fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
, accessories
Fashion accessory
Fashion accessories are decorative items that supplement and complement clothes, such as jewelery, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, wigs, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow ties, hand fans, leg warmers, leggings, neckties, suspenders, and tights....
, toys, watches, home appliances, sports equipment, technology and wines.
History
vente-privee.com was founded in 2001 by the current CEO, Jacques-Antoine Granjon, and his seven life partners.At the end of 2000 Jacques-Antoine Granjon and his associates began to conceptualise the sale of out of fashion stock through limited-time sales events on the internet. The principle was to fulfil supplier’s needs to quickly sell old stock, without harming the brand’s image or competing with other distribution channels, while extracting maximum revenue. On July 26, 2007, Summit Partners
Summit Partners
Summit Partners is a growth equity investment firm focusing on a wide array of transactions from leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations to growth capital, venture capital investments, and mezzanine capital....
acquired a minority stake in vente-privee.com
vente-privee.com infrastructure
vente-privee.com employs around 1250 people (2009).850 employees are based in the old printing factory of the French daily newspaper Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, in La Plaine Saint Denis (Paris):
- A production team of designers (videoVideoVideo is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
and sound engineersAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, photographers, hair and makeup stylists, photo editorsImage editingImage editing encompasses the processes of altering images, whether they be digital photographs, traditional analog photographs, or illustrations. Traditional analog image editing is known as photo retouching, using tools such as an airbrush to modify photographs, or editing illustrations with any...
, web designers), IT specialistsInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
and sales coordinators - An internal European customer serviceCustomer serviceCustomer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
s team who responds by email to member enquiries. The company also has external call centres based in LilleLilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
for operations in France, BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
for Spain, FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
for Germany, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
for Italy and RichmondLondon Borough of Richmond upon ThamesThe London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...
(Greater LondonGreater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
) for the UK.
The remaining 400 employees work in the 125,000 sqm warehouses in Blanc-Mesnil
Le Blanc-Mesnil
Le Blanc-Mesnil is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, between Charles de Gaulle International Airport and le Bourget Airport.-Name:...
(Paris) and St. Vulbas
Saint-Vulbas
Saint-Vulbas is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.-Population:-References:*...
(near Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
).
Concept
The vente-privee.com concept is the organisation of out of fashion designer brand sales events over a limited period of time (typically 2–4 days), available only to members. Until 2009 one had to be sponsored by a member to become a member. Since early 2010 the registration to vente-privee.com is open to anyone, probably according to its move to sale its 1 million optin emails databaseHow it works
48 hours before a sale takes place, an invitation email is sent to all members.Sales usually start at 6 am GMT
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
on weekdays, and 8 am GMT on weekends, and last for 2 to 4 days.
Eco-system
Since 2001, more than 30 other websites have emerged on this concept in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Also some regular e-business websites have moved to theprivatesales as part of their offer (e.g.: cdiscount.com,rueducommerce.com).Awards
2009- vente-privee.com received the award of the ‘Customer Service of the Year 2010 Award’ in two categories: event-based selling and general distance selling.
- Jacques Antoine Granjon’s success was recognized at the Booz&Company award ceremony as they’ve decided to award him with the ‘CMO of the Year’
- vente-privee.com won the ‘Favor’i des Internautes’ (internet-users favourite) prize at the ‘Nuit des Favor’i’ award event in Paris (FEVAD).
2008
- Jacques-Antoine Granjon is nominated “Entrepreneur of the Year”, during the BFM Awards, organised by BFM, financial radio and TV media,
- vente-privee.com wins the Year Innovation prize in the “Distance Selling/E-commerce” category at the LSA (Libre Service Actualité) Magazine Awards.
2007
- 2007 Jacques-Antoine Granjon was voted 'E-Commerce Business man of the year' (Awarded by E-commerce Magazine 2007),
- During the Favor’i ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of FEVAD (French Federation of Mail Order Companies), Jacques-Antoine Granjon won the 'Favor’i d’Honneur' award recognising him as the most influential Distance Selling Businessman of the last 50 years. The website was also rewarded for being 'The Internet user’s Favor’i for exclusive online sales'
- vente-privee.com received the jury’s special award for the strongest growth of a European company founded within the last 10 years 'The Changing Times Award Audemars-PiguetAudemars PiguetAudemars Piguet is a manufacturer of prestige Swiss watches which compete with Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin.-Foundation:...
'.
2006
- Second nomination for 'Best e-commerce website in terms of customer satisfaction.'
2005
- 'Innovation prize for the best French e-commerce website' and nomination for 'Best e-commerce website in terms of customer satisfaction' (Baromètre Direct Panel).