vente-privee.com

Started in 2001 by Jacques-Antoine Granjon, vente-privee.com is a French company that offers famous brands at a discount price (from 30% to 70%).
The idea is to create a virtual space where selling events for any kind of product occurs for 3 or 4 days for privileged customers. The only way to benefit to these events is through a sponsor system.
48 hours before an event, the members receive an email that informs them about the product sold through a trailer. Once the event is over, the company places a global order to the brand. After reception, vente-privee ships the products ordered by its members.
For the first three years, vente-privee.com invests and develops itself. The success really begins in 2004 with a selling event around a famous lingerie brand.
In 2007, Summit Partners buys 20% of the company in order to sponsor a development in other countries. Today, vente-privee.com is present in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Great Britain. In 2009, the company tries music with an exclusivity selling of Kabaret, a Patricia Kaas album, for 6 Euros.
In July 2009, the company counts a thousand workers, 8 million members in Europe, 3,5 millions customers and more than one million of unique visitors each day.

How does vente-privee make any money?

As previously said, vente-privee places its order to the brand once the selling event is over. The company does not spend any money for it as it is pre-paid by its customers. Because of its success, the order placed by vente-privee is quite large and they pay it with a discount.
The products are auto financed with a benefice.

Problems solved for customers, suppliers and company owners.

Customers: The members of vente-privee are warned of a selling event by mail two days before it occurs. Every brand sold is a famous one and the prices are exceptionally low (from 30% to 70%).
The members don’t have to go to a brand store to buy the products. They only need a net connection and a postal adress to purchase and receive their products.
They can discover new brands a new products every week, always with a very attractive discount price.
The members can feel priviledged as they are part of a club and, with only one purchase, can attain VIP status.
Suppliers: The brands have a new way to reach new customers. They can get rid of unsold products and maintain and increase their revenue with the private online channel.
New brands can make themselves known through a partnership with vente-privee. They can fidelize new customers with their discount prices.
They lower the risk of leftover stocks.
Company owners: As their orders are pre-paid, vente-privee has a low operating cost and a lower risk when an economy crisis happens. Through affiliation, subsription and commissions, the company has large revenue sources.

Vente-privee.com: refashions closeouts.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2008/gb20080111_222659.htm?chan=innovation_branding_brand%20profiles

For Jennifer L. Schenker, vente-privee.com is all about presentation. Instead of showing pictures of unsold product, the company puts toghether promotional shots and videos featuring fashion models and original music that add lustre to the product. The campaigns are approved by the brands and help boost the sales.
This process is of course an important element to the company success but it does not entirely explain it. Actually, the success is mainly due to the first-mover advantage. The idea of Jacques-Antoine Granjon was original and bold (a good example of Design Thinking by the way). But the most unusual aspect of vente-privee is maybe its merchandising program. The company hires models, make-up artists, hairdressers, and photographers to produce daily fashion shoots showing leftover merchandise. The headquarters even houses a recording studio where original music for advertising trailers is created. The songs are so popular that Vente-privee.com now sells a CD of the tracks on its website.

What about another industry?

Vente-privee.com is all about about fashionable products, essencially clothes, handbags… although some selling events are for furnitures. These products are expendable or can be worn out. There is another industry with the same tendencies: wine.
The main wine producers wouldn’t need this kind of business model, although their products couls be available. No, the purpose of a “vente-privee around wine” would be to offer the product of unknown producers. That kind of model would be an advantage for them, to be known and reviewed, and for the customers, to discover new wines.
There are many models that already exists around wine. The main ones are 1jour1vin.fr and caveprivee.com.
http://www.1jour1vin.com/fr/
http://www.caveprivee.com/