14 DAY TRIAL // The economic downturn has taken its toll on the retail sector, even online but one bright spot, at least in Europe, has been private sales clubs, which have taken off in recent years. One of the most promising companies of this type is Vente-Privee, a French one, which is seeing some serious revenue numbers these days. Traditionally, if you can use this term for a market that is barely a decade old, e-commerce outfits have been very interested in the space and it looks like Amazon may be getting close to acquiring Vente-Privee for around $3 billion, according to TechCrunch.
Vente-Privee isn't confirming anything officially but it looks like the two companies are closer to finalizing negotiations. They haven't agreed on a deal yet but are apparently converging on a price of around 2 billion Euros. Xavier Court, Vente-Privee marketing director, told TechCrunch about the rumored sale that it was “very flattering but not true at all.”
Business Insider cites other sources saying that, even though the two companies have been in talks for the past year, a deal is not near completion at this point although it may come at a later date. Rumors about an acquisition have been going around for a while now and it's said that companies like Amazon, eBay and Gilt, a private shopping US startup are looking to enter the European market either with acquisitions or through their own ventures.
Vente-Privee was founded in 2001 but started generating big revenue numbers, and hype, only recently. It is expected to bring in around 650 million Euros this year. It also grew into an impressive size with over 1,000 employees and 18 photo studios. However, its success has spawned a huge number of competitors in Europe but also in the US and its position as the uncontested leader may not hold for long.